


Wish Upon a Star

by albe_chan



Series: Wishes Series [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Drama & Romance, F/M, Harry Potter Next Generation, Hogwarts, Recreational Drug Use, Teen Romance, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-09
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-06-07 21:18:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 27
Words: 121,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15228093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/albe_chan/pseuds/albe_chan
Summary: Lily Potter is certain her Sixth Year at Hogwarts is going to be lame. Scorpius Malfoy is gone, and she's back at school alone, with nothing but time to kill until she can reunite with the boy who stole her heart the previous year. Little does Lily know, Sixth Year promises to be more dramatic and more insane than she could ever dream. New relationships, new dramas, and a whole new year of classes, Pep Team, and struggles await. And with Carmichael around, nothing could possibly be lame. But can she figure out how to balance what needs getting done with having a good time?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm back! And here to bring you Lily's Sixth Year at Hogwarts! I'm sure lots of you aren't going to like it, and you have to squint for the Lily/Scorpius, but...well, I can't spoil the ending. Read on, if you dare! :D

**Wish Upon a Star**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational drug use, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Lily Potter bit back a sigh and fought the urge to roll her eyes as her mother asked her, for the third time on the drive through London toward King's Cross, if she had everything. "Yes, Mum, I've got everything," she sighed, wishing at least one of her older brothers were with her, if only so her Mum would stop asking her pointless questions. But James would be at work at Gringotts and Albus was still away, doing his year-long tour of the wizarding world with his best friend, Scorpius Malfoy.

The redhead felt a surge of sadness at thinking about Scorpius. They'd dated, far too briefly, the school year before, and Lily was still hopelessly in love with him, despite technically dumping him before term ended two months previously. But he'd written her a few times over the summer, and of course, she blushed just thinking about it, there was the little glass ball, the Remembrall, he'd gotten her for her sixteenth birthday that ensured she remembered him and showed her he remembered her. Said Remembrall was currently tucked safely in her trunk, and Lily tried to feel pumped about the new school year. Instead she mostly felt a resigned sort of acceptance. She was almost certain that her Sixth Year would be boring and humdrum, at least compared to Fifth Year, and she would be permanently single, because none of the boys at Hogwarts were Scorpius.

In the front seat, her mother was weepy. "I just can't believe it's just you, Lily. Just my little Lily, and she's starting Sixth Year," Ginny sniffled for the fourth time. Harry Potter patted his wife consolingly on the arm.

"Mum," Lily said, smirking a little, but leaning forward, "you'll see me at Christmas. Which is like three months away."

"Almost four!" Ginny sighed.

"Ginny, it's okay. Children grow up, just like we did." Ginny sighed. "Besides, she won't even take her Apparition test until the end of the year," Harry murmured.

The elder redhead brightened a little at this, even as Lily frowned. "Not that you didn't Apparate under age," Lily mumbled, having heard that little tidbit over the summer, from her uncle Ron after he got a little tipsy.

Harry frowned massively. Ginny interceded. "So are we going to meet your elusive friend you visited over the summer, Lily?" she asked pointedly.

The redhead pursed her mouth, looking away. She hadn't exactly mentioned she'd gone to stay with a boy, which she knew her parents wouldn't approve of, and although nothing, mostly, had happened when she had gone to visit Horace Carmichael over the summer, she wasn't about to rat herself out now. "Maybe," she said lightly. She would avoid it at all costs.

Once they arrived, and her dad parked, which Lily thought took far too long, and crossed through the magical barrier to Platform 9 ¾, the young witch sighed, still unable to conjure up more than a pleased grimace. Her cousin Hugo was down the platform a ways, looking pained, as his mother, teary eyed, kept adjusting his sweater and patting his cheek, going over the reminders to be good and stay on top of homework and the like.

The Potters made their way over and Lily grimaced at Hugo, who pulled a face back. As the two youngest Weasley relations, Hugo and Lily were burdened with forever being treated like terrified eleven year olds on September the first. "How'd you do on OWLs?" Hugo asked as their parents talked.

Lily snorted. "I passed. Well, everything except Divination." Hugo smirked. "No Outstandings, but I got Exceeds Expectations in Charms, which was a shock. You?"

"I failed History of Magic," Hugo sighed, but smirked. "Though Dad says he'd have been more disappointed if I passed it." Lily laughed as Hugo's dark eyes rolled. "Mum was convinced for a month I would never find reasonable employment without it."

Lily grinned. "Well, I'd offer to predict your future, but I'd probably fail," she said and Hugo chuckled. The warning whistle for the Hogwarts Express blasted. Lily braced herself for the teary goodbyes, and hustled onto the train with Hugo.

She waved until they rounded the bend, then dragged her trunk along to a compartment with the Pellard twins and Cheryl Graves, three of her four dorm mates. Hugo's mouth thinned a little and he said a stiff goodbye, going along to the Prefect carriage. Lily assumed her cousin was still peeved that her friend Cheryl had ditched him last year, for Lily's older brother, Albus.

"Hey, bitches," she sighed, dragging her trunk inside and, with a wave of her wand and a murmured "Wingardium Leviosa," she Levitated it up into the luggage rack.

"Hi, Lily," Faith and Hope said in tandem.

Cheryl sighed and Lily's mouth quirked a little. "Hi, Cheryl," she said pointedly.

"Hey," she said. "Just so you know, your brother's a fucking douche and I've been praying fervently that his dick falls off," she sighed, and looked out the window. Lily frowned.

"Obviously," she said lightly. "And ew. What'd he do?"

The twins shot Lily the 'please don't get her started' look, but it was too late. "Nothing," Cheryl grumbled. "Absolutely nothing, not a single fucking thing! Which I should've guessed, really. And that's the problem. Ugh!"

Lily frowned some more. "Explain more. Obviously Al's an idiot, but I want to know why you think so now too."

Cheryl's mouth twisted bitterly. "He said he'd write, and I haven't gotten a single letter." Lily's mouth parted. "Right!?" Cheryl said. "I bet Scorpius wrote you loads!"

Lily bit her lip. "Not loads," she murmured.

"But he still wrote! Ha! I hope that jerk wad does write now so I can give him a piece of my mind!" Cheryl sighed. "Whatever, it doesn't matter, 'cause I'm moving on from that twat." Cheryl flashed Lily an apologetic look. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bring up-"

"It's cool," Lily said, and smiled brightly. "Where's Matilda?" Lily spotted the other girl's trunk. Cheryl frowned, but the Pellard twins giggled. "Prefecting I presume?

"We saw her just after we boarded," Faith said, nodding and painting her nails.

"And guess who she was talking to, blushing and giggling?" Hope continued.

"We literally almost died," Faith added.

"Who?" Lily asked.

"Dave McEwan," Hope said, looking smug. "And they looked ultra friendly."

Lily giggled a little. "Aw, that's kind of cute," she sighed.

Hope's brows lifted. "Honestly, he kind of got good looking over the summer. McEwan," she added. Cheryl cast her a disbelieving look. "Serious! I mean, total nerd alert, obviously, but he grew a little and definitely filled out."

Lily snorted. She couldn't picture it. "That reminds me," Faith added, and Hope giggled. "Guess who else we saw, Lily?"

Even Cheryl smirked now. "Oh, I saw that. Very nice. If Lily doesn't call dibs, I might." The redhead's brows pulled together.

"Call dibs on what?" she demanded. Hope and Faith had identical looks of amusement.

"Carmichael," Cheryl said, and the three other girls giggled as Lily blushed. "He got a haircut."

Lily's brows shot up, cheeks still pink. "No way!" When she'd seen him, the first week of August, he'd still had his mop of hair, although she'd noticed, at some point, he'd gotten his lip pierced, which she found suited him, and his killer smile and adorable dimple. And had made kissing him slightly adventurous.

"Way," the twins said in tandem. "And he looks good without all that hair in his face," Hope added.

Faith rolled her eyes. "He looks better," she clarified. "No offence, Lily, but even if you pass, I'm not interested." The redhead chuckled.

"He's a free agent," she replied, blushing a little, remembering hanging out with him over break. They hadn't done much more than kissing, and maybe the occasional fondle, but she'd smoked a lot of weed with him and they'd talked and laughed at length together.

"Do you mind if I ask him out?" Cheryl asked with a lifted brow, and Lily contained the urge to frown.

"If you want to, go for it," she said, putting her feet up on the seat across, between the twins.

The dark-haired witch smirked. "Yeah, right. I can tell, you're just saying that, Lils."

"Besides," Faith added, as Lily blushed again, "he's obviously into you." The others nodded and Lily blushed darker.

"I doubt it," she said modestly. "I wanna see this haircut though." She accepted a handful of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans from Hope. "Thanks, girl. Does he still have his lip ring?"

Cheryl's brows shot up. "Lip ring?" she repeated, all but licking her chops.

The twins looked shocked. "We didn't see-" Hope began.

"Any lip ring!" Faith finished.

"Me either," Cheryl confirmed and Lily blushed massively. "When did he get a lip ring?"

"And how would you know about it?" Faith demanded. Hope sighed, looking dreamy, as if picturing it.

The redhead forced herself to shrug nonchalantly. "I saw it on break," she said. The other three girls gaped at her. "What?"

"You hung out with him over break!?" Cheryl squealed. "Oh Godric, details, right now, bitch."

The twins nodded their agreement. Lily sighed, cursing her big fat mouth. "Like what?" she asked. "I went to his place for a few days. No big deal. And nothing even happened." She pointedly didn't mention the kissing, or the fact she'd still slept in his bed with him, although nothing, mostly, had happened other than sleeping.

"How did your parents let you?" Hope demanded.

Lily smirked. "I just told them a friend invited me to their place. I never mentioned said friend was a guy."

"Or that you slept with said guy before," Cheryl added, cackling.

"Or that you two sucked face all last year," Faith finished, giggling too. Lily threw a vomit-coloured Bean at her.

"Obviously not. And nothing even happened," she repeated.

"Crafty," Cheryl said. "So are you and Carmichael going to not-date again?"

Lily sighed. "Maybe." She ate a lemon Bean and her face puckered. "I think we'll hang out and shit, but it probably won't be anything serious." She barely resisted the urge to sigh, because all she could think about was Scorpius and how much she missed him.

Matilda made an appearance just before the lunch trolley, and filled Lily and the others in on her summer break, where she'd gone to France with her parents. The twins questioned Matilda about Dave McEwan and they all giggled as Matilda blushed. "We're just friends," she said repressively.

"Like Lily and Carmichael?" Cheryl drawled. Matilda frowned.

"Are you getting together with him?" Matilda asked the redhead.

"I doubt it," she replied. "We'll probably just hang out."

"Good," Matilda said. "And, just saying, I am a Prefect, so please don't be smoking drugs with him." Lily laughed. "What? You honestly thought I didn't figure that out?" Matilda drawled.

"I honestly thought you didn't even know drugs could be smoked," Lily admitted. Matilda smiled grimly.

"Despite being a loser, Zipzer taught me a few things," she muttered.

"Ew, don't even say his name, Matilda," Lily teased.

The Prefect smirked, getting up to patrol some more. "So last year, Potter," she drawled.

After they pulled into Hogsmeade Station and Lily and her dorm mates piled into a Thestral-drawn carriage to go up to the castle as Hagrid called out for First Years to follow him, she sighed a tiny bit. The redhead had spotted someone she thought might be Carmichael down the platform, and couldn't help but wonder what he'd look like without his permanent mop of hair. Or wonder why he didn't have his lip ring in. She'd rather liked it, herself.

The Great Hall was filled with chatter when they sat down at the Gryffindor table, and Lily waited impatiently for the Sorting to begin. "Ooh, I hope Charity gets put with us," Hope said to Faith.

"Oh yeah! Your sister is starting this year, isn't she?" Lily said. She'd met Hope and Faith's younger sister once, the summer before Third Year when she visited the twins over break, and had found the younger Pellard girl annoying and adorable in equal measure.

"Uh huh," Faith said. "She'll be fine either way, Hope."

"No offence, hopefully she gets Hufflepuff, 'cause last I remember your sister was annoying." Lily smothered a laugh as the twins sent Cheryl dirty looks.

The Sorting took place, the twins' little sister joined them on the Gryffindor bench, and then the feast was served. Lily kept looking over toward the Ravenclaw table, but didn't spot Carmichael. She frowned as dessert appeared and then Cheryl said into her ear, "He's at the far end."

Lily blushed a bit, but smiled her thanks and peeked over to where Cheryl covertly pointed. And there, indeed, was Carmichael, his hair cut short, although still long in the front and falling into his eyes the tiniest bit, and she sucked in a breath. Because he looked really good without the mop. Even if he'd ditched the lip ring. "Wow," she muttered, then blushed as Cheryl giggled.

"Told you. Still not calling dibs?"

Lily snorted and rolled her eyes, glanced back at Carmichael and saw him looking at her, a smirk turning one corner of his mouth up. She gave a little wave and then the Headmistress was giving the start of term speech.

The redhead purposely hung back as everyone exited the Great Hall after, catching Carmichael at the foot of the stairs. "Hey," she said lightly, smiling.

"Hey, Potter." He eyed her up. "Did you grow more? Salazar, you're a giant giant."

She laughed a little and shoved him lightly, then kissed him. "Where's your lip ring?" she teased as they started up the main staircase. "Take it out for school?"

Carmichael smiled and Lily sucked in some air, because he really was very good looking when he smiled genuinely and, even though she didn't get the molten rush of hormones and desire she remembered from being in close proximity to Scorpius, she definitely felt a flutter of very definite like. "No, my mum hates it, so I pretended I ditched it."

Lily giggled. "Aw, mummy's ickle boy," she teased. Dark eyes rolled.

"Whatever, Potter. You saying you like it?"

Lily shrugged, pushed a hand through her massive, unruly mane of dark red hair, and smiled when her other hand brushed his. "I do," she admitted. "Even if it means making out with you is awkward."

Carmichael laughed. "How is that awkward?"

They were still going up the stairs and Lily grinned. "It kept poking me over the summer." She nudged him with an elbow. "Nice haircut by the way."

"I figured one of us should get one," he said, twirling a hank of her hair. "Besides, you kept biting it." She blushed.

"You liked it," she mumbled.

They paused, having reached the top of the stairs. "I did." He moved closer. "So I have to ask, since we're both obviously single," he murmured, eyes darting down then back up, "d'you wanna come visit my dorm again, Potter?"

She laughed, then bit her lip to hold in her giggles when he pulled her flush to him. "Not tonight, Carmichael."

Her hands braced on his chest. "Lame," he sighed.

"When I get my schedule tomorrow, maybe we'll hang out. I should have at least one free period."

Carmichael grinned. "Don't tell me the summer was just a tease," he said.

She kissed him, groaning a little as his hands moved confidently around her waist, tongue teasing her lower lip, and she bit him gently. "You should know I'm mostly all tease, Carmichael," she breathed after he broke away.

"I like that it's just mostly," he said, then kissed her again. "Come find me tomorrow and we'll take a walk."

"Sure," she said. "Does this mean you're going to be my pretend boyfriend?"

"Are you going to be my giant, slutty, pretend girlfriend?" he shot back.

"Of course, just not slutty this year. Until I find someone better, anyway," she teased. He smiled and she tapped his lower lip. "And put your lip ring back in."

A dark brow lifted. "So you can bite it some more?"

"Of course. And because you're the best pretend boyfriend, and you listen and shit." She kissed him again, then shoved him back. "I'm going to my dorm. 'Night, Carmichael."

"Goodnight, Potter."

Lily realized she didn't have the password when she got to the Fat Lady and cursed herself for not asking Matilda on the train. To her delight, she only had forty seven seconds of awkward eye contact with the Rubenesque woman in the painting where she stared gormlessly before someone exited. "Oh, hey, Potter," said a familiar voice and she frowned.

"Do I…?" she began, then trailed off when recognition dawned. "Holy shit," she said. Dave McEwan stared back at her looking puzzled, but she definitely got where Hope had been coming from now. He looked...like a grown up. It was startling. Still shy and nerdy, but definitely not a boy. "Wow, sorry, my brain just didn't…" Lily blushed. "Sorry. Um, thanks, do you have the password?" She felt like an imbecile.

Dave smiled kindly. "It's 'Gobbledygook'."

"Correct!" said the Fat Lady imperiously. "Now kindly enter or stay outside, I don't want to be hanging in the hallway all day!"

"Thanks," Lily breathed, then hurried into the common room before she could make an ass of herself again.

She went up to her dorm to unpack what she wanted unpacked, and maybe find a not too noticeable spot on her night stand for the Remembrall. Cheryl was the only other one there. "So tell me for real, Lils," she said. "Nothing happened at Carmichael's over summer break?"

Lily snorted, hazel eyes rolling. "Nothing worth mentioning," she confirmed. She took out the little glass ball and smiled a little, then put it on her night stand, along with her perfume and her old watch. "I mean, we kissed and shit, and there was platonic sleeping together, but nothing more than that."

"I don't get it," Cheryl mumbled. Lily laughed.

"What's not to get? It's not like I'm in love with the guy. And I don't want to just sleep around for the hell of it, either."

"Does he still do pills?" she asked softly and Lily blushed a bit. She had a feeling the answer was yes, though he hadn't done them around her while she stayed over, and hadn't mentioned it.

"How should I know?" she asked. "I'm not dating him."

"You should," Cheryl said, and Lily snorted again. "And don't give me that toss about you're just friends and whatever. Face it, you like him, at least as more than friends."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Maybe," she hedged.

"Well all your other guy friends aren't putting their tongues in your mouth, are they?" Cheryl teased and Lily threw a pillow at her just as the Pellard twins came in, their little sister in tow. "Um, why is the Firstie here?" Cheryl asked. Poor Charity looked terrified.

"Ignore the black-haired bitch," Hope said firmly. Faith rolled blue eyes.

Charity, who was her older sisters in miniature still, looked at Lily, her blue eyes going wide. "Your dad is Harry Potter," she said, sounding awed. Lily laughed.

"Yes."

"He, like, totally saved the world," Charity said, even as Cheryl snorted.

"He did," Lily conceded. "But he's a bit of a tosser, really. Never even let me fly a real broom before I went to Hogwarts. I had to have a stupid toy one, and after that I never learned to ride a stupid real broom." The twins laughed, Charity looked shocked, and Cheryl rolled her eyes. "I'm going to shower," Lily said.

"Freshening up for the evening ahead?" Cheryl teased and Lily flipped her off.

XXX


	2. Chapter 2

**Wish Upon a Star**

written by: albe-chan

 **DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational drug use, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Morning came too soon for Lily's liking, after she and her dorm mates stayed up late, each dishing about their OWL results and more about their summers. They even managed to almost convince Matilda that Dave McEwan was into her. After dressing, Lily shuffled down to the Great Hall for coffee and to finalize her schedule for the year. Professor Longbottom cleared her to take Charms, Potions, Transfiguration, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Herbology (complimenting her on her mark), and Arithmancy, even though she'd only gotten Acceptable on her OWL. She opted to drop Care of Magical Creatures, despite getting an Exceeds Expectations, because, if she was honest with herself, she'd rather stare at complex magical equations in the warmth of the castle than freeze her butt off outside while babysitting a Niffler for an hour. She also dropped Astronomy, because she was awful at it and had been shocked she gotten an Acceptable, and History of Magic, because really, who needed it, right?

Professor Longbottom tapped her schedule and handed it to her. "There you go, Potter." She glanced down and barely resisted cheering as she saw she had spare period that morning, first thing (which would mean Monday morning lie-ins, hooray!) and after break on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and a double spare every Friday afternoon. "What'd you get?" Cheryl demanded, snatching her time table, perusing it as Lily looked over hers. "Nice, we have Wednesday spare periods together!"

Lily frowned. "Why do you have Muggle Studies on Fridays?" Lily demanded. "You were supposed to drop it!"

Cheryl shrugged, blushing. "I heard Mark McKnight was taking it at NEWT level." Lily laughed. "Shut up, Potter," Cheryl grumbled.

"Well, I have spare now, so I'm gonna take a walk and do a whole crap load of nothing until Transfiguration."

The other witch smirked. "If you stumble into Carmichael, ask if he's gonna be a twat again this year, or if he'll hook us up." Lily rolled her eyes.

"We'll see," she replied, and waved, taking her coffee with her as she moseyed outside into the brisk autumn morning. After almost no time she'd made it to the lake and performed a Heating Charm on her coffee to finish it.

"Potter," someone said from behind her and she turned, smiling a little as she caught a whiff of Carmichael. "Skiving?"

"Free period."

He rolled dark eyes. "Lucky. Free periods first thing are the best."

"Almost as good as double spare period on Fridays, end of the day," she admitted and he chuckled.

"Figures you'd get a decent schedule. Daughter of The Chosen One and all that, I guess."

She laughed, moving to sit with him on a grassy section of bank that rose above the water a bit. The redhead noticed he had his lip ring back in and leaned in without thinking, kissing him, pulling the metal hoop into her mouth to nibble. "So my dorm mates think we're going to hook up," she murmured after pulling back. Carmichael grinned, dimple flashing, then snitched a drink of her coffee.

"Obviously. I'm a god between the sheets and you love it." Lily laughed as he sparked up a joint and puffed.

"You mean you like touching me, pervert."

He purposely dragged a fingertip over her thigh to the hem of her uniform skirt. "Of course." He puffed some more and then passed the joint. Lily hesitated, then took a hit, feeling instantly fried.

"Shit, I forgot you're a bad influence," Lily giggled. She tilted her head and pushed a hand through her hair. "So, just out of curiosity, did you ever end up asking Mallory Chang out?"

Carmichael shrugged. "I asked, she said no thanks." He smirked a bit. "I think she was put off by the thought of getting with her ex's sister's not-boyfriend."

Lily laughed, leaning into him when he put his arm around her. "Too bad for her," she murmured, pinching his cheek.

"Good thing for you, though," he teased and passed the joint again. Lily puffed, feeling very mellow, and after Carmichael outed it, dropping his roach into its scent-proof pouch, she sighed, eyes heavy lidded, drinking some more coffee. "What's with the face?" he asked.

She lifted a brow. "What face?"

He smiled. "The face you have on. The thoughtful face."

She giggled a little as he dropped anti-redness potion in his eyes, then did hers. "I was thinking how different this year is, compared to the rest, anyway."

Carmichael kissed her softly, then pulled back. "Are you sure that's not because you're stoned first thing on the first day?" he drawled. Lily laughed some more, and put her face in his neck.

"Probably," she said, and snuggled into him. "Y'know, we should probably just date for real. I don't really want to be a slut again this year." He chuckled at that.

"Yeah?" he drawled. "Who says I want to?"

She smirked and bit him. "Me, you tosser. I'm wonderful."

He snorted. "You still can't claim modesty as a strong suit, Potter."

"Fuck you, Carmichael," she said without venom and suckled his lip ring into her mouth again when he kissed her.

"If we dated for real, you might have to," he murmured.

"If we dated for real, you'd have to sell to my friends," she shot back. He pulled a face. "What? Don't tell me you've gone all straight edge on me, Carmichael. So lame."

He hooked his forefinger onto the top done button on her shirt. "I don't sell to the young'uns," he said.

"Except me."

He grinned and she poked his dimple. "If we dated for real, you could keep your gold."

The redhead smiled. "That literally sounds terrible," she giggled. She held her hands in the air. "Free weed," she lifted her right palm, "sleeping with you on the regular," she added, lowering her left palm, and laughed when he shoved her. "Kidding, that wouldn't be a fair trade for you."

"That's because you're a tease."

She smiled wider. "Yup," she said and looked at her watch, Vanishing her coffee mug. "Okay, I gotta get my ass up, or I'll be late for Transfiguration. Walk me back up?" Carmichael sighed but went back up to the castle with her and she grasped his hand. "So what's the deal then?" she asked as they climbed the front steps.

"The deal for what?"

Lily rolled squinty eyes. "Us, moron. Are we pretend dating or what?"

Carmichael smirked. "What, you got a crush on me or something, Potter?"

"You want to up the odds of getting me naked, or not, Carmichael?" she threw back. He laughed.

"We'll see. But either way, I'm not selling to your little friends, Potter. It's against the business ethics code."

She snorted as they started up the stairs. "Really?"

"Really."

"Then I guess we'll see. What do you have now?"

"Nothing until Herbology," he said, yawning a little. She frowned. "Which is after lunch."

"The whole morning off?"

"No. But I don't need to attend Muggle Studies class. My Gran is a Muggle."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Such a bad influence," she murmured as they reached the top of the stairs.

His hands moved to her hips. "And I haven't even asked you to come rolling yet," he murmured, and she rolled her eyes again. Despite her last time with Carmichael under the influence of E being pretty good, Lily had no desire for a repeat of the 'partying' experience, That had been equally good and fucking awful. Good while it happened, awful in the aftermath. They snogged for a bit before Lily insisted she had to go, and left Carmichael with a wave.

She slid into the seat beside Cheryl in Transfiguration on the bell, having performed several Freshening Charms on herself to, hopefully, avoid smelling like she was fried. Cheryl smirked at her regardless and Lily bit her lip to keep from giggling as the Professor came in.

At lunch, Lily spotted Carmichael easily and tried to focus on what Hope was saying across the table and not on comparing the memory of Scorpius kissing her to the very nice but no match snog she'd shared with the Ravenclaw Seventh Year that morning. "Hello, Earth to Lily," Hope teased, waving a hand.

"Sorry, what?" she asked, shaking herself out of her thoughts.

"What, she says," Hope scoffed.

Faith sighed but Cheryl smirked. "It's not her fault, she's off in La La Land, thinking about her 'just friend'."

"I was not," Lily insisted. Not really, anyway. "I was thinking about…" She didn't want to say his name. But she thought it, and then came the usual thought process that followed thinking about him. Where was he right in that moment? What was he doing? And, although she hated herself for thinking it, she wondered if he was thinking about her, missing her with the same intense aching she missed him.

"Sorry," Cheryl mumbled, but Lily shrugged. It sucked, but she could deal. She glanced at Carmichael again and smirked when he looked up, seeing her looking, and flipped a page in his book, nibbling absently on his lip ring. The redhead resisted the urge to go over and nibble too. It was mighty tempting, and she almost laughed, because she never would have guessed a little metal ring would be so fascinating, or such a turn on.

"Now I'm staring at Carmichael," she admitted, and the twins rolled their eyes but smirked with Cheryl.

"The lip ring is a good look for him," the dark-haired witch said.

"Right?" Lily giggled.

"Anyway, back to the point I was trying to make to the space cadet," Hope grumbled, and Lily grinned. "Are you in to go quarters on some hooch?"

"Sure," Lily replied. "But don't get Firewhiskey. Get Lemon Ginger Gin."

Faith rolled her eyes. "We get what we get," she said.

Lily frowned. "Where are you getting it anyway?"

Faith beamed. "Alfonso Bonifacio. You know the Italian stallion you tried to set me and Hope up with last year? His little brother. He's only Fifth Year, but he got Angelo's connections."

"And charm," Hope said slyly, and Faith blushed. Lily cackled with Cheryl.

"Does he have his looks too?" she asked.

Hope snorted, but Faith blushed a bit more. "Oh yeah," she breathed.

After lunch was Arithmancy and then double Herbology to round out her afternoon. In Herbology, Professor Longbottom introduced them to their fall term project, Snargaluff plants. Lily was paired with, to her consternation, two Hufflepuff students. Robert Robertson, who played Chaser for the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team, and had lost to Albus and Scorpius in last year's final match, and another Quidditch guy who Lily thought might play Beater, and was pretty sure was named Evan MacDougall.

"Well, well, if it isn't little miss party Potter," Robertson drawled once Professor Longbottom gave them instructions to don protective gear before attempting to wrangle the plant and go in with a game plan.

MacDougall snorted. "Well, well, if it isn't the sore loser." She smiled. "I saw that last game, y'know. You lot were so close to catching the Snitch, I almost thought you boys had it in the bag."

Robertson scowled. "For that, you can stick your arm in and get the pod thing, Potter." Lily frowned back, but put on her protective gear. The Quidditch guys wrestled the crazy branches, the redhead pulled her hair up, and then dove in, making sure to keep one arm free as she wrangled a rogue branch, and tried to keep her eyes open for a hole in the stupid stump.

At last she saw it and reached around. The rogue branch broke free of her grasp, lashing out with a vengeance, and Lily made to pull her arm away from the hole, but it closed around the middle of her forearm. "Ah!" she half-screamed, the plant surely trying to bite her bloody arm off, and she panicked, ripping at the rogue branch, tugging it, trying to get the stupid hole to release her arm. She brushed the pods with her fingertips and, as she felt the plant slowly giving way, she plunged her hand in, grabbed a stupid pod and whipped her arm back out as fast as possible.

Lily was panting, sweaty in the muggy greenhouse, and had a welt on her cheek from the stupid thing attacking her, but was clutching the disgusting, slimy pod. It couldn't have lasted more than a few minutes, but Lily felt like she'd just defeated a snarling beast. "Congratulations," Professor Longbottom said. "Go on, crack it open! They're the best when fresh, you know."

Lily wanted to go take a nap but dumped the disgusting pod into a bowl as the boys stripped their protective gear. "Holy Hippogriffs, you went fucking nuts on that thing, Potter," MacDougall said in his soft Scottish brogue, eyeing her up looking equally impressed and wary.

Lily removed her gum shield and goggles as well and smiled. "And that wasn't even me pissed off. Now, how the hell do we open this thing?"

After she got back to her dorm, Lily took a long hot shower, rubbed some Healing ointment into her welt from the stupid Snargaluff, and headed down to dinner with Cheryl. They bumped into Carmichael on the stairs and Cheryl sped away wordlessly, smirking at the redhead knowingly.

"Hey," Carmichael said. "You look like you got in a fight."

She grinned. "I did. The Snargaluff thing lost." He smiled and hazel eyes flicked down to his lip ring. "I don't even know why, but this," she flicked it lightly, "is distinctly intriguing."

Carmichael's grin widened. "That's because it's on my mouth, which you don't seem to mind regardless."

"Maybe," she laughed. "Or maybe 'cause you're like, the only dude here at Hogwarts who has a facial piercing, and the novelty will eventually wear off."

"Ouch," he drawled. "But I think there's a Slytherin guy with an eyebrow piercing. That counts." Lily rolled her eyes, then paused on the stairs leading to the Entrance Hall. Carmichael stopped a stair below, then stepped back up. "What?"

"You can't do this with an eyebrow ring, though," she murmured, and moved in, kissing him, and curling her tongue around his piercing, tugging very gently, before she pushed her tongue into his mouth. They snogged for awhile, and then Lily pulled back, smirking.

"True. I'm just smarter than your average Slytherin," Carmichael said. They continued down to dinner, parting ways when he sat at the Ravenclaw table and she continued on to the Gryffindor bench. She spotted Cheryl and snagged the space next to her.

"Seriously?" the other witch drawled.

"What?" Lily asked, helping herself to shepherd's pie, although she already knew.

"You two are so obvious." Cheryl rolled her dark, heavily lined eyes and Lily smirked. "At least he'll be a distraction this year. I mean, I know the whole thing with Malfoy didn't really-"

"I don't want to talk about Malfoy," Lily said a little sharper than she'd meant. She sighed. "I don't really want to think about him, either. It's… I dunno." The last she'd heard, they planned to stop in around Christmas to visit family and whatnot, but Lily didn't know if that meant she'd see Scorpius or not. She hoped so, but she wasn't letting herself do more than hope, on the off chance it was for naught.

"Sorry," Cheryl murmured. Lily waved a hand. "But you're a free agent, right? No one would care if you found someone else to hook up with." It seemed to go unspoken that Scorpius probably would find someone, if not more than one.

Lily shrugged. "We'll see," she mumbled, and focused on dinner.

That night she made a start on her Transfiguration homework in the common room, and spotted Matilda and Dave McEwan, heads together, talking quietly over homework. She sighed, almost jealous, then reminded herself it wasn't like she was undateable. She had plenty of options. She was just packing up her stuff to go for a stroll before curfew and someone hollered for her from the direction of the portrait hole.

To her surprise, it was MacDougall from Herbology class. "Um, hi," she said, stepping out, a little confused.

"Hey. So this is probably gonna sound lame," he said and she saw his cheeks flushing a little, "but d'you wanna like, hang out or some shit?" Lily almost burst out laughing, but then realized he was serious and gulped. She couldn't help but look him over. MacDougall was, in a word, huge. Tall, broad shouldered and built like the standard Beater; thick, muscled, and meaty. But he had adorably unruly brown curls that still looked unmanageable cut short, and very soft brown eyes set deep into a boyishly cute face.

"Like, right now?" she asked.

MacDougall shrugged. "I dunno." Somehow the words sounded better in his lilting Scottish accent.

"If you think I'm going to put out, you can forget about it," she said firmly. The Quidditch jock cracked a smile.

"Well I wasn't expecting it right away," he joked. Lily bit her lip then shrugged.

"I guess. Um, how about Friday, after dinner?"

MacDougall looked surprised. "Works for me," he said easily. "Cool." Lily smiled a little. "And just for the record, Potter, not all of us Hufflepuff guys think you're easy."

The redhead laughed a little at that. "Let me guess, that comprises you and, what, like two others?"

MacDougall smirked. "Nay, just me. Besides, any girl who wrestles a plant in a skirt like you is as far from easy as they get."

"Thanks," Lily said, feeling a flush of warmth at the compliment.

"Don't mention it. See you Friday," he said looking pleased and Lily waved, heading back into the common room and up to her dorm to drop her bag.

The twins were gossiping, finishing each other's thoughts in that bizarre way they had, and Lily grinned as she breezed in, the door closing itself behind her. "I have a date on Friday," she gloated, dumping her bag happily. Two sets of blue eyes rolled.

"With Carmichael?" they asked in unison.

"No," Lily said primly, and laughed at their identical looks of shock. "Your faces are priceless," she giggled.

"Who are you going out with, then?" Faith demanded.

Lily pursed her mouth. "Why should I tell you?"

"You have to, we have to talk about it. Carmichael's no fun to talk about anymore. Give us something new," Hope said.

Lily laughed. "Come on," Faith pleaded. "We share all our dates with you."

The redhead sighed, because they had a point. "Fine. But you can't make fun of me." She felt suddenly nervous, like she had in Third Year, telling the twins and Cheryl how she and Max Morris had held hands.

The twins scoffed. "Yeah right," Hope said, as Faith said, "Puh-lease."

"Evan MacDougall."

Faith looked like she wanted to giggle and Hope looked thoughtful. "Is he in Hufflepuff?"

"Yup." Lily blushed a little as the twins exchanged looks, judging her choice in dates. "And before you two say anything, he was actually pretty sweet about it," she added, changing out of her uniform and into pants and a thick Weasley Christmas sweater she thought might be from Fourth Year that just now fit properly, and glanced at her watch. "Yes, still forty five minutes to curfew. Godric I love being in Sixth Year."

"Where are you going?" Faith demanded. "I wanna hear how you got asked out!"

"Me too!" Hope added.

Lily grinned. "He asked if I wanted to hang out. I said sure. I told him he wasn't going to get lucky, he said after watching me in a death-match against a Snargaluff stump, he doubted I was easy. The end." Lily laughed as she heard the twins both half choke and headed out for a walk, feeling in a decidedly great mood.

After a meander along the Forest, her feet lead her behind the greenhouses and she saw Carmichael smoking a joint. When she moved over to him, his mouth covered hers, exhaling as she inhaled, puffing the smoke out as he pulled back. "Hey," she said, smiling.

"Hi." His eyes roved over her. "You're in a good mood."

She accepted the joint and puffed lightly. "I got asked out today."

Carmichael cocked a brow. "Should I be worried, Potter?" Lily laughed, took another drag and passed the joint back.

"Totally," she teased, but smiling as his free hand slid under her sweater and around her waist. "How could you even be worried if we're only pretend dating?"

"I thought we were not pretend dating," Carmichael murmured, then smiled. "Godric, you womenfolk, so fickle."

"Pfft, us 'womenfolk'? What are you, like eighty?" He chuckled, then pulled her in and kissed her.

"Not quite." He pulled off the joint and passed it. "So what's the deal then?"

"What's the deal with what?"

Carmichael chuckled again. "You're fried, Potter."

"Yup," she giggled, took a puff and handed his joint back. "But really, you mean like, us?"

"Is there an us?" Carmichael asked.

Lily laughed. "Is there?" Carmichael smiled and Lily pushed his hair up.

"Do you want there to be an us?" Carmichael asked, finishing his joint after Lily waved away more.

"Honestly?" she murmured. "I dunno. I mean, I like you. I like hanging out with you. The kissing is top notch," he smirked at that, "but… I kind of still have feelings for Malfoy. Which is like, ultra shitty, 'cause he's probably fucked like a hundred witches." Carmichael snorted. "Okay, maybe not that many, but still," she said, smiling a little.

"Eyes wide," he murmured, and dropped hers, then did his. "So…? That wasn't really an answer. And if Malfoy's shagging his way through half the witches he meets doing whatever, doesn't that mean you can too?"

"I dunno, I thought we were just going to see. And sure, I guess, although I prefer wizards to witches."

"Interesting. And I meant you'd see the inside of my bed hangings again," he teased, other hand roving under her sweater but staying at her waist.

"Tosser," she murmured.

"Tease," he replied, and she smiled against his mouth.

"Either way, I guess I should tell you I said yes to going out with someone." Carmichael smirked.

"Yeah?" he drawled.

"Mmm," she said, unable to resist kissing him and toying with the lip ring. "That's distracting."

Carmichael smiled, leaning back in to kiss her, suckling her lower lip in the way she liked best. "Have fun on your date, Potter," he mumbled. "And if you decide you want to be a little slutty, I better make the cut."

Lily laughed. "You're top of the list, Carmichael," she promised, and smoothed her hands up over his shoulders and they kissed some more until she felt his hands moving steadily upward, fingertips easing under her bra. "Mmm, I should go. I'm gonna be late for curfew."

"Who cares?" Carmichael groaned, mouth moving down her neck. She bit on his lip ring after pulling back slightly.

"I do," she replied in a murmur and the Ravenclaw sighed.

"You suck."

Lily giggled, pulling back, but took his hand as they wandered back up to the castle. "You didn't complain last time I sucked," she teased lewdly. Carmichael grinned.

"I was high last time," he replied softly as they passed into the Entrance Hall, making her laugh. "Better give me another so I can make sure I wasn't imagining your skills."

"Ouch," she said, and shoved him. "If you imagined it last time you shouldn't have any problems now." They parted ways at the top of the stairs and Lily went back to her dorm, looking forward to Friday.

The other four girls were already there. Matilda gave her a knowing eye roll, but Lily only smiled. "So, Matilda," she said, peeling off her sweater, "be straight with us. You and McEwan, what's the deal?"

"We're just friends," Matilda said, looking away, cheeks pink.

"Bull," Cheryl drawled. "I saw you two in the common room."

"Ditto," Lily confirmed. "So?"

Matilda shook her head. "C'mon, Matthews," Hope said.

"Do you want to be more than friends?" Lily pushed.

Matilda blushed. "I'm not dead," she mumbled. Cheryl's mouth dropped open.

"And you know he's obviously got a thing for you, right?" Faith added. Matilda blushed darker, shaking her head again.

"Yeah right," the mousy haired witch sighed. Lily frowned at Matilda, who was gathering her shower stuff. "I mean, he's sweet, and we're friends," Matilda looked more embarrassed than ever, "and I wouldn't say no to more, but I don't think Dave's interested."

"Are you daft?" the redhead said incredulously.

Matilda scowled. "No, Potter," she snapped. "If he was interested he'd ask me out, or make a move, or something, right?"

"Some guys are shy," Hope said fairly.

Cheryl made a thoughtful face. "And you said you two wrote and shit over the summer, though, right?"

"Yeah, so?" Matilda mumbled.

"Come on," Lily said, smirking. "He's not going to be like fuck face," she added softly. "I mean, like you said, he's actually sweet, right? He probably doesn't know you like him back as more than friends."

Matilda blushed darker than ever. "Who says I-?"

"Come on," the twins said in tandem.

Lily smiled. "If you like him, just ask him out," she said easily.

"Or snog him all over the place and tell everyone you don't like him like that, right, Lily?" Cheryl said. Lily rolled her eyes, but Matilda smiled.

"Maybe," she hedged, and disappeared into the bathroom.

XXX


	3. Chapter 3

**Wish Upon a Star**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational drug use, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

The next morning, Lily was just finishing breakfast when Professor Longbottom came down from the Head Table, headed directly for her, looking as though he was braced for something uncomfortable. Lily prayed he'd walk right on by her as she finished her coffee and waited for Cheryl to down the last of her cereal before they headed down to Potions.

"Miss Potter," Professor Longbottom said and she lifted her eyes, feeling guilty, although she hadn't done anything wrong. At least extra wrong. "A word, please."

She shared confused, anxious glances with Cheryl and Matilda, who was sitting across, and followed their Head of House out of the Great Hall. "Am I in trouble?" she asked, hoping to Godric the answer was no.

Professor Longbottom smiled. "Not today, Lily," he said easily, then his face became determined again. "An unexpected precedent has occurred," he said. Lily's brows drew together, because that sounded kind of awful, and she wasn't sure if she might still be in trouble. "As I'm sure you're aware, Hazel O'Malley was made Pep Team Captain this year." Lily nodded, even though it was news to her. "Unfortunately, she's declined the role, citing her NEWTs as a priority."

The redhead wondered what her Head of House was getting at. "Okay," she murmured.

"And Belinda Thomas, the next choice, also declined Captaincy." Lily waited, stomach dropping. "So, as they've both declined, the offer now falls to you, Potter." The redhead opened her mouth to say thanks but no fucking thanks, but Professor Longbottom held up a hand. "They both recommended you for the position, as you're the only other veteran member, and while they're not opposed to joining the team again, they both feel you'd make a better Captain. Hazel O'Malley herself said, and I quote, 'Lily was the best anyway, she should've gotten Captain in the first place'." Lily was flabbergasted. And slightly horrified. She'd only done so well last year for Rose, she didn't actually  _care_  about fucking Pep Team.

"Um," she said weakly. She didn't want to be Pep Captain!

"I'm not trying to pressure you, Lily, but if you should also decline, the Captaincy will remain vacant, and Gryffindor probably won't participate in the Pep Cup this year. Something like this has never occurred before, so there's no set guidelines, but I'm not comfortable appointing a Captain for our House who has no experience." Lily gulped. "So, Potter," Professor Longbottom finished, "what do you say?"

She opened her mouth to say no, but then pictured Rose's face when she told her at Christmas she'd declined taking up her cousin's mantle of Captain for the stupid Pep Team. And guilt churned in her stomach. She could almost hear Rose in her head. " _You have to do it, Lily, it's for the good of the House_!" Well, shit.

"Um, I guess I could," she said awkwardly. Professor Longbottom looked relieved.

"Excellent, Lily," he said, smiling. "Your cousin requested you be named Captain anyway at the end of last term. And I'm sure your parents will be proud." Lily fought the urge to grimace, hoping to Godric and Merlin and all that was holy he wouldn't write and tell them. "I've a list of hopefuls who want to try out, so you can look the list over and set up tryouts at your leisure. And best of luck, Lily."

He held out the stupid little badge that named her Pep Captain and Lily accepted it, wishing she could throw it in the lake. After Professor Longbottom went back into the Great Hall, Cheryl came over, looking curious. "What was that all about?" she murmured.

Lily stared at the stupid badge, then held it out to Cheryl. "If you love me, kill me now," she murmured as Cheryl laughed.

"Yeah right, girl," her dark-haired friend said, handing the badge back over. "This is going to be hilarious."

Lily glared and stomped down to the dungeons for Potions, Cheryl laughing all the way behind her. Later, she posted a notice on the common room bulletin board on break, setting up tryouts for Saturday morning.

By Friday, Lily was half dreading the coming year. At least a dozen girls had signed up for stupid Pep Team tryouts, all of whom were wide-eyed with excitement, and Lily wasn't looking forward to being in charge of six silly girls. She hoped to Merlin Belinda and Hazel would also show up to try out, but she suspected that had just been a ploy to be rid of it themselves. And in all her classes, there was talk of, as soon as Christmas, nonverbal spells being expected in class, and the redhead was terrified. However, the thought of her date buoyed her up, and when she had Herbology again on Thursday, after they'd packed up and Robertson had hustled out, MacDougall had asked when she wanted to hang out, and they'd agreed upon a time and place to meet. Eight o'clock, Quidditch pitch.

The redhead felt oddly nervous as she swiped on mascara in the bathroom off her dorm room. She frowned at her hair, a mess and unruly as ever, and sighed, pulling it up into a bun atop her head so at least it would be out of the way. The afternoon had been rising in temperature and even now, it felt almost warm, as if in a memory of summer. She shrugged into a light cardigan, regarding herself in the full length mirror, and stared critically at her reflection.

Jeans that were snug and she knew made her butt look good, a tank top, and her grey cardigan. Not the classiest, but she shrugged and went back through her dorm. "Lily, seriously?" Faith drawled.

The redhead frowned. "I'm not going to a party," she mumbled. "I'm hanging out with a guy who was impressed at my skill wrestling vegetation," she said, trying to convince herself she was cool with the date. Inside she was jittery and wanted to giggle like a twelve year old.

"Don't bother with her," Cheryl said from behind her magazine. "Have fun with the beefcake, Lils."

Lily flipped her off, smirking, because that made her feel a bit better, and headed down for her very casual date. She told herself she wasn't nervous, but that didn't work. By the time she got to the pitch, she was nervous, and felt a sharp surge of relief to see MacDougall standing there, his face looking how she felt. "Hey," she said, approaching, eyeing his broomstick, resting casually over one shoulder, with trepidation.

"Hi." She watched his eyes do the slow rove and hoped she wasn't blushing as the daylight faded rapidly. "So someone told me you don't know how to fly, Potter," he said once she drew level with him. Her stomach dropped.

"True," she admitted. "Because brooms are terrifying." Because a toy broomstick couldn't manage much past two feet, maybe three with a good tail wind, off the ground. A real broom could go to death-inflicting heights.

He grinned. "Nay. You've got Quidditch in your blood, Potter, come on. Didn't your mum play professionally?"

The redhead shook her head. "She did, but seriously, it skipped a generation with me." MacDougall merely moved his broom and rested it at thigh height. It hovered patiently. "I'm not getting on a damn broom," she murmured.

"You can't just jump on, Potter," he said, rolling his dark eyes, and reached for her hand, as if to lead it toward the broom. His palms were a little rough, and huge, but gentle. "It's like a horse. You don't just jump on it and hope for the best."

Lily's brows shot up. "I don't like horses either." She didn't mind ponies, because they were jolly and fat, and again, posed less of a risk of dying, but horses were borderline terrifying. MacDougall chuckled.

"Come on, Potter," he murmured, that soft lilt in his accent swaying her a tiny bit. She could just touch a broom, it wouldn't jolt away. Hesitantly, Lily patted the broom and all but snatched her hand back. MacDougall laughed again. "It's not going to bite."

"Still," she mumbled, blushing a bit.

"Come on, Potter, you wrestled a Snargaluff. Man up."

She glared a little at that but gathered what little courage she had left concerning possible broom related death and reached out and held the stupid thing. It wobbled a little, as if messing with her and she frowned at it. "Now what?" she asked.

"Now you mount it." Lily snorted.

"Um, try again, MacDougall."

He grinned, moving his hand to draw the broom closer to her, and she grit her teeth to avoid moving away from the stupid thing. How was it remotely enjoyable to clutch a twig that swirled around in the air, playing Russian roulette with death? "It's easy. Besides, nothing bad is going to happen." He smirked a little. "You want me to hold it steady for you, Potter?" he teased.

Lily pushed him with her free hand, but he didn't budge. "You're supposed to at least pretend I'm injuring you," she muttered. MacDougall moved beside her, a very warm and solid presence.

"Sorry, I'll try to keep that in mind," he said softly, and she blushed a tiny bit. "Now hop on, Potter."

"No," she said firmly.

"Just for a second. You're just sitting down. Relax." She shook her head a little. "Are you a Gryffindor or not?" MacDougall murmured, and that got her back up, temper flaring. How dare he!

She frowned but moved to sit on the stupid broom, wincing as she did, waiting for it to either drop or take her on a swift flight to pain and/or death. Instead she was merely sitting. On a broom. Her mouth was dry, palms a little sweaty, and she felt dangerously close to nauseous, but there was also a tiny sliver of excitement. She lifted her feet experimentally, biting her lip again, convinced of impending doom, but she merely hovered there.

"Don't forget to breathe, Potter," MacDougall murmured and she let out the breath she'd been unconsciously holding in a whoosh and took another, trying to remain calm. "See? Easy as pie."

Lily looked up at him, almost laughing, except that she was half-terrified still. "Have you ever made pie? My Nan made me learn, from scratch, the  _Muggle way_ , and let me tell you, it's damn hard," she said. MacDougall laughed properly, eyes going crinkly at the corners when he did.

"Really? My Nan makes the best pies."

Lily snorted. "I'm sure they're delightful, but  _my_  Nan makes the best pies. And I'm willing to bet I know more people who agree with me than with you."

"Just because there's four hundred Weasleys doesn't make it true," he challenged. Lily's eyes narrowed a bit, but she smirked.

"Well, when you have four hundred votes for your Nan, let me know." MacDougall grinned and then Lily realized she was staring him in the eye. And was steadily lifting upwards. "Oh hell no," she said, eyes going wide, and instinctively clutched his very solid form, arms around his neck and one of his broad shoulders.

"Relax, Potter," he said, still grinning, and she fixed him with a dark look. "You're not going to die."

"How do you know?" she demanded.

"I'm still holding the broom." She frowned, blushing a tiny bit at that, then realized she was at a very good vantage point for kissing him, and wondered if he'd somehow planned this.

"I swear to Merlin, if you let go, you're going to wish I went as easy on you as I did on that Snargaluff." Her arms were still around his neck, her mouth now a couple centimeters above his.

"If you say so, Potter," he drawled, accent roughening the tiniest bit. She smiled.

"And you still have to pretend I'm injuring you," she reminded him, and then leaned down, thinking only about what Carmichael had said before, about Malfoy. If the blond pureblood could be a free agent, so could she! And she had dumped  _him_ , sort of, technically! Her mouth pressed against MacDougall's and she barely resisted a giggle, because he seemed shocked for a beat, but then his mouth moved, slanting over hers, his very warm tongue snaking out to tease the inside of her upper lip.

She gasped at the pleasurable tickle then groaned as the kiss deepened, tongues sliding against one another, enjoying the solid breadth of his shoulders to hold onto and the softness of his mildly tamed curls when she ran her hands through them, legs parting to pull him closer on instinct. The redhead felt one of his hands on her hip, pulling her yet closer still, and a soft, sighing moan slipped from her mouth to his as they snogged, slow and hot. "Shit," he murmured after she pulled back. Lily did giggle now.

"You can say it, I'm a great kisser."

His mouth pursed thoughtfully, dark eyes glinting in the last of the daylight. "I don't know if I'd say great," he teased. She smirked, brushing her mouth suggestively over his, then leaned into him a little more.

"Well, you should probably replay it over in your mind to decide then," she said lightly, and pulled back completely. "Now how do I get down?"

"Jump," MacDougall said. "Or, you could swing your leg over and actually learn how to fly."

The choice was beyond easy for Lily and she hopped down lightly, biting her lip once she was back on solid ground, because she sort of used him to brace for impact. "Best not to push my luck." She smiled as he shouldered his broom and they started slowly back toward the castle. "Okay, this is going to sound like a really weird question, but I'm honestly just curious," she said after a few moments of companionable silence. "So don't go reading into anything."

He chuckled. "You're awfully defensive, Potter. But fine."

She bit her lip again, hesitating, then glanced up and across at MacDougall. "What sort of chairs do you Hufflepuffs have in your common room?"

There was a beat of silence, and then MacDougall laughed uproariously, eyes crinkling, and Lily rolled her eyes. " _What_?"

"Seriously. What kind of chairs do you have? I've seen the Slytherin common room. They have nice, dark leather club chairs. Fancy, classy. Ravenclaw? They have really nicely upholstered wingbacks and shit. Tasteful and elegant. What's Hufflepuff got?"

"Why do you care?" he asked, still looking thoroughly amused.

"Can you just answer the question?" Lily shot back, sighing. "I told you, it was weird. I just want to know."

MacDougall shrugged, still chuckling. "I dunno. Most of them are like those kind of overstuffed chairs old people always have. Only without a bunch of flowers." Lily frowned.

"Are they nice?" she probed. MacDougall chuckled.

"Aye, they're in good shape. Not particularly cool, but comfortable at least."

Lily frowned hugely. "Well that's just a cauldron full of dragon bollocks," she snapped. MacDougall lifted a brow. "Sorry, not your fault, but that's so not fair. Gryffindor's chairs aren't particularly nice."

"Just Transfigure a better chair, Potter," MacDougall said. "I still remember you in Third Year, Transfiguring the desk into jelly."

Lily snorted a laugh. "Oh Godric, I almost forgot about that," she said, laughing some more, because the teacher had been shocked. "I was actually so embarrassed, and I have no idea how it happened. I think I said something wrong."

MacDougall chuckled. "We all thought you did it on purpose. Robertson thought it was great."

Lily smirked. "If he's your friend, I'm sorry, but that guy's kind of a jerk."

MacDougall shrugged. "He can be," he said fairly.

Once they got to the castle, Lily wasn't sure what was supposed to happen, but sucked in a deep breath, lifted onto her tippy toes, which felt bizarre, and kissed MacDougall on the cheek. "I had fun. Even if I almost died."

He grinned. "If you want another flying lesson, let me know," he said softly, his brogue making the words impossibly softer, and he headed to the door that would lead down to the Hufflepuff common room as she headed toward the stairs. Lily thought, as she climbed, about that. Did she want to see MacDougall again? She frowned, thinking about it seriously. He was nice, and relatively funny, and not a bad kisser. But, like Carmichael, his kiss didn't do much to excite her on a primal level. It was pleasant, and nice, but it lacked the emotion and passion and chemical reaction that sent her heart racing and lust igniting like when Scorpius had kissed her. She frowned. Was it something wrong with her, that she couldn't feel like that with anyone but him, or was it some magical thing within him that melted her brain into goo and had her panting with want?

"Gobbledygook," she mumbled to the Fat Lady, and went, on autopilot, up to her dorm.

The twins were waiting. "So?" Hope demanded before she even got to her bed.

"How'd it go?" Faith demanded.

"It was good," she said. The twins waited expectantly and Lily rolled her eyes, pulling off her cardigan and stripping her jeans, then pulling on comfy, well-worn pyjama pants before flopping onto her bed. "MacDougall is super nice."

The twins shared a look. "How nice?" Hope drawled.

Lily scoffed. "Not  _that_ nice," she sighed. "I mean, maybe, but I don't put out on the first date. ...Anymore." The twins giggled and Lily's mouth quirked up a bit too. "Anyway, it was good. He tried to teach me how to ride a broomstick." Faith snorted back a guffaw of laughter, but Hope's burst out. "Oh Godric, what are you two, like thirteen? Not like that, perverts."

"Sorry," they said in unison. "But how did that go? You hate flying," Hope asked.

Lily shrugged. "I didn't really fly. I sat on a broom that hovered maybe three or four feet off the ground. But I didn't die, which was a plus."

"And?" Faith prompted after a beat.

"And we kissed. He's pretty good at it." She smirked, stifling a girlish giggle, and added coyly, "He did this thing to my upper lip that tickled, but in a good way. It was nice."

"But?" Hope said, looking like she was fishing.

Lily rolled over, glancing at the Remembrall on her night stand. It was clear and she bit back a sigh. "But not as good as Malfoy," she mumbled.

Faith shot her a sympathetic face. "You still-?"

"Yeah," Lily sighed.

"So are you gonna hang out with MacDougall again?" Hope asked softly.

Lily shrugged. "Maybe. We'll see."

"And Carmichael?" Faith asked. Lily smirked.

"What about him? He's Carmichael." The twins shared a look and Lily glanced back at her Remembrall. It was still stubbornly clear.

"Are you two going to-?"

Lily laughed. "Maybe. We'll see," she said again and the twins rolled their eyes. "Hey, I'm a free agent, so I'm not tying myself down." Because the only guy she wanted to be tied down to (metaphorically or physically, she wasn't picky), was Merlin only knew where, doing Salazar only knew what, with Godric could only guess who. "Anyway, what's up with you two? I wanna hear you lovely bitches dish about guys." Hope and Faith seemed interested in their tasks, completing homework and now painting intricate designs on her nails respectively, and the redhead rolled her eyes, sitting up and grabbing some Chocolate Frogs from her candy stash. "Well?" she demanded.

Hazel eyes darted from Faith to Hope and back, and when Lily looked at Hope a second time, expectantly, she cracked. "Faith's hooking up with Alfonso Bonifacio." Lily grinned as Faith blushed.

"Hope's gone on two dates with Brad Bartleby from Slytherin," Faith added, "and her third one is tomorrow." Hope blushed now and Lily giggled.

"Wait, isn't Bartleby the really tall guy?"

"He's a Chaser on their Quidditch team," Hope said, a little defensively.

"Nice," Lily said. "Does that mean he knows how to score?" she teased. Faith snorted and Hope gave her sister a dark look.

"Not yet," she said. "But Bonifacio does, right Faith?"

Lily cackled, biting the head off a Chocolate Frog, as Faith's whole face went red.

"You're a bitch," the blonde hissed to her twin.

"Then you are too," Hope shot back. Lily smirked.

"Was he good? C'mon, gimme some tiny details," Lily murmured.

Faith shrugged, but a slow smile spread over her face. "He's  _great_. Very...thorough," Faith admitted. The redhead's brows shot up as Hope snickered.

"Still, a younger guy?" Lily asked. "Isn't that…? I dunno, I thought you liked the older ones."

Faith shrugged. "He's going to be sixteen on November first, he's not that much younger," Faith said dismissively. "And I just like the Italian ones."

"She likes when he calls her 'bellissima'," Hope corrected. Faith capped her nail polish and rolled her eyes.

"Well, Hope likes the tall, thin ones who play Quidditch," she said pointedly, "but we don't see me making snide remarks about her liking Bartleby saying she's his," her eyes darted to her sister, "what was it? Oh yes, his 'little Goldilocks'." Hope blushed massively and Lily, despite kind of loving the dirt, felt the need to intervene before the twins, who fought mean, got too out of hand.

"Well, I guess it was true all along," Lily sighed. "I must be a slut, 'cause I don't even have a type."

Hope giggled. "Why not?"

Lily flipped her Chocolate Frog Card over absently in her fingers and frowned. "I dunno."

Faith's brows drew together. "Well, what do you like about MacDougall?"

It was Lily's turn to blush. "He's cute. And nice. And when he laughs, he gets these little crinkles around his eyes that are like ultra cute." She smiled a bit. "He's kind of like a St. Bernard. Giant, but sweet. And there was the upper lip thing, which leads me to believe he knows a thing or two."

"Aww," Hope sighed.

"And Carmichael?" Faith continued.

Lily smirked. "The lip ring," she said without thinking. "The killer smile. He's actually wicked smart, and hilarious, and he's a great kisser. And Carmichael's like really perceptive, and always chill." She smirked. "And there's the perks of green," she added. She felt herself blushing and tacked on a mumbled, "Plus he's a really good lay." At least, when she'd been high off her face he had been, but she assumed it would be good either way. It wasn't like he'd have lost the equipment, right?

"And Mal-?"

"I'd rather not go there," Lily cut in firmly. She looked at the Remembrall and pursed her mouth. "But, he's probably the epitome of my type, if I had one," Lily admitted after a moment, staring down at her father's shifty face on her Chocolate frog card. She sucked in a breath and let it out in a whoosh, changing the subject abruptly as she looked up. "So, when do we get our hooch, or are you lovely bitches giving me my five Galleons back?"

"Alfonso said next weekend," Faith replied. "And he's getting us the Lemon Ginger Gin." The redhead smirked.

"Nice. We'll have to have a drinky-poo."

Hope looked pointedly at her sister, then at Lily. "And maybe a puff puff?" she drawled questioningly. "I mean, unless your 'friend' Carmichael is still a loser and won't sell to us. At least Bonifacio knows the way things work."

Lily laughed. "I'll try, Hope, but it's probably a no. Something about some kind of business ethics code or something." The twins gave her confused looks and Lily laughed harder. "I'll try," she repeated.

XXX


	4. Chapter 4

**Wish Upon a Star**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational drug use, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Morning came, sunny and bright and Lily opened her eyes, feeling refreshed and relaxed and she sighed to herself in the silent dormitory. Ah, Saturdays. The best day of every week. The weekend stretched out before her, classes but a distant memory from the day before and homework unimportant because that could be done tomorrow. And then, like the Hogwarts Express at full speed, reality returned to destroy her pleasant mental interlude. She remembered in a rush she'd accepted the Captaincy for the stupid Gryffindor Pep Team, and had scheduled the daunting prospect of tryouts for that morning at ten. She looked at her watch and sighed. It was already quarter to eight. Lily put the sheet over her face, trying to relax in silence again and pretend she wasn't dreading her day now, but then the dormitory door opened.

Lily looked up and saw Matilda, already dressed, slipping over toward her trunk. Lily smiled and Matilda smirked. "You were right," she whispered, a huge smile lighting up her face.

"I'm always right," Lily yawned and Matilda giggled softly. "About what this time?"

Matilda sucked in a breath then moved to sit on the end of Lily's bed. "I asked out Dave," she whispered. Lily's eyes went wide. "And he said yes," she whispered and smothered a giggle with her hand. "He didn't think I liked him as more than friends."

Lily grinned. "And?" she prompted, because Matilda seemed far too bright-eyed and giggly for just having asked a guy out.

Matilda shrugged, unable to smother her own grin. "And then we made plans to go out for Hogsmeade weekend on October first." The redhead grinned wider at Matilda's guilty blush.

"And?" she pushed.

Matilda shrugged a little, fiddling with a loose thread on Lily's coverlet. "And we may have sort of...explored the more than friends bit."

Lily barely clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles in time. "Shut up," Cheryl grumbled from the next bed. She picked up her wand and cast a couple Muffliato charms.

"And?" Lily all but demanded for a third time.

"And what?" Matilda said.

Hazel eyes rolled. "Did you kiss?"

Matilda's face went bright red and Lily repressed the urge to laugh. "I don't think-"

"Come on," the redhead sighed. "You never dish. Just give me the tame details, it's fun." Matilda pursed her mouth.

"Fine," she mumbled. "We kissed. Happy?"

Lily barely refrained from rolling her eyes again, but reminded herself Matilda probably never did this, unless she had a diary. Which the hazel eyed witch was betting she did. "No. Come on, Matthews, you got like five Outstandings, on your OWLs. You can do better than that."

Matilda's mouth mushed together but then she sighed. "Well…" Lily waited. "Okay, so we're like, in the Library, and I needed a book for my Astronomy homework, but it was on the top shelf. Obviously I could Summon it down, or Levitate it, or even-"

"Get to the kissing part," Lily interrupted.

Matilda giggled a bit. "Okay, so I asked Dave to get the book for me, and I said it was lucky he was so tall." She took a deep breath. "And he said it was lucky he grew over the summer, and I said," her cheeks went red again, "he also got even better looking." She smiled. "And Dave got kind of embarrassed, but then he said that was lucky too, because now everyone wouldn't be wondering why a pretty girl was hanging out with a dork."

Lily giggled with Matilda. "That's so sweet."

"Right?" Matilda said, sighing. "So then I asked if he wanted to go to Hogsmeade, and he said yes."

The redhead smirked. "Are you getting to the kissing part?"

Matilda rolled her eyes. "That wasn't until we were going back to the common room last night." Lily lifted her brows in a silent 'go on'. "We'd just turned into the Fat Lady's corridor, and Dave was like really nervous, and I mean I kind of was too, but then he stopped walking and asked if it would be okay if he kissed me."

Lily held in a squeal. "And?"

Matilda blushed. "I kind of said maybe we shouldn't stand in the middle of the hallway. And so we moved over to the alcove across from that rusty suit of armour, and he kissed me."

Lily giggled as Matilda got up from the end of her bed and got up herself. "That's awesome, Matilda. I'm glad you found someone."

"Me too," Matilda said. "Dave's really sweet, and a way better kisser than fuck face." She'd moved over to get her Transfiguration stuff and Lily, who was grabbing her shower stuff, let out a loud guffaw of laughter that effectively woke up the rest of the dorm. She hustled into the bathroom, dodging Cheryl's pillow.

When Lily got to the Quidditch pitch for Pep Team tryouts, she easily spotted Hazel O'Malley amongst the fifteen or so girls who'd showed up to audition, and waved the Seventh Year girl over. She felt nervous and was regretting taking up the stupid role of Captain, but she couldn't go back now and she steeled her faltering courage and determination. "Hey, I'm glad you took that," Hazel murmured, pointing to the badge Lily had grudgingly donned over her hoodie.

"That makes one of us," Lily muttered. "Is Belinda going to-?"

Hazel frowned. "She wants to, but she's already stressed about NEWTs," Hazel said with the air of having rehearsed what she was going to say, and Lily got the hidden message. She didn't really want to. The redhead couldn't blame her.

"Alright. Well, did you want try out, or-?"

Hazel smiled. "Honestly?" she murmured, "I don't much care about Pep Team, and I only tried out last year on a dare, so I-"

Lily sighed. "So you're not coming back?"

The Seventh Year grimaced. "Sorry, Potter."

"It's okay," Lily lied. It was definitely not okay, but she pasted on a smile. "Thanks anyway."

Hazel headed back up to the castle and Lily blew her whistle to get everyone's attention. "Okay, so, since we have lots of spaces to fill, we're going to start with some basic drills, and whoever does best, makes the team, and we'll have one reserve, just in case." She lined the girls up, and after a long hour, where the audience around the pitch doubled in size, she'd narrowed down the six best girls. One Seventh Year, Missy Daniels, two Sixth Years, from the other dormitory, Kasey Michaels and Missy's younger sister Lexi, and three Fifth Years. The redhead was going to make Hazel O'Malley, the bitch, her reserve, because this was mostly her fault anyway, and the rest of the tryouts had been awful, honestly.

Lily stressed over the greenness of the team after practice as she checked out the office she'd been given a password to in order to reserve pitch time for practice. She didn't like having three girls with OWL year on the team, remembering how stressful balancing practice and homework and studying had been toward the end of the year, but it was better than nothing. There were some tears and tantrums from the girls who were cut, and nasty names thrown Lily's way when Stephanie Marsden, a fellow Sixth Year, hadn't made the cut, but she bore through and remained mostly calm.

After auditions were over, Lily had put the girls through more move drills, and some basic combos, and then wrapped practice, setting the next practice time for Tuesday after classes. She leafed through the schedule book for the pitch in the little office between the change rooms, and smirked, noticing the Hufflepuff Quidditch team had booked the pitch in the hour afterward them on Tuesday. She flipped through and booked some more practice times while she was there and jotted down a copy for herself to post in the common room. Then she thought about a crowd watching her and her probably awful Pep Team practice and decided to just let the girls know one by one. And then swear them to secrecy on pain of Unforgivables.

As she spotted a few other Hufflepuff Quidditch bookings in the coming weeks, Lily thought about MacDougall and their sort of date, and then of Scorpius, who hadn't written in almost a month. She liked the fellow Sixth Year Hufflepuff, but she couldn't banish the memory of Scorpius from her heart. It was frustrating. She wanted to find someone else who'd make her lose her mind like the tall blond could. But she suspected it was because she felt like that about Scorpius that she couldn't feel it with another guy. Damn it! The redhead pulled her hair from it's bun and sighed, snapping the pitch schedule book shut and decided she'd go out with MacDougall again. He was sweet, and funny, and for all she knew, he might be her type too. Even if he wouldn't ever be Scorpius.

As she headed out of the little office, making sure to lock up behind herself, she spotted Carmichael. "Hey," she said, smiling a little.

"Hey. I thought you hated Pep Team, what with the ass shaking and the skimpy outfits," he teased, and the redhead frowned. Carmichael laughed.

"You're such a tosser," she mumbled and smirked as he moved in, backing her against the door of the little office, hands around her waist, under her hoodie.

"Care to help a fellow out to change that?" he asked and her palms roved up his chest and neck, pulling him in to kiss him hungrily.

"You know the deal, Carmichael," she murmured after she broke away. He tilted his head. "Bend that silly rule you have about selling below your year, just for my dorm mates, and we'll see."

His mouth curved slowly into a smile, and Lily leaned forward to bite on his lip ring. "That might be construed as blackmail, Potter," he rumbled, and she felt his hands rove lower, then up under her tee. "I didn't think you Gryffindors were capable of that. The noble-hearted tendencies and all."

"I'm half Weasley, so I'm the exception to that rule." Carmichael snorted and she pushed his bangs up. "So?" Lily sucked in a breath as his hands moved under her tee around to the closure on her bra.

"So I'm not actually an idiot, Potter," he said, smiling. "We'll have to see before I go bending what I consider to be sound business morals."

She laughed. "You are a pervert after all."

Carmichael shrugged. "I'm an opportunist," he said. "So?"

She pushed his arms down. "I'll let them know you're being stubborn," she said, kissed him lightly, and pinched his cheek playfully. "And y'know, I might have to rethink my stance on you being a good pretend boyfriend. You don't listen to me anymore," she teased with mock dramatics as they meandered back up toward the castle.

"Because I'm back to not getting even pretend tits," he countered. "So I might have to rethink you being a good pretend girlfriend."

She slung an arm over his shoulders. "I'm still the best pretend girlfriend, Carmichael," she said.

A dark brow lifted, dimple popping out. "Yeah?"

"Uh huh. I haven't cut you off entirely, have I?"

His smile widened into that perfect grin and Lily found herself smiling back. "You know what that means then," he murmured.

"What?"

His arm snaked around her waist. "You have to come rolling. Then we'll come back to the negotiating table on my rule bending."

Lily laughed. "That's because you know I won't say no when you want more than just tits," she said softly.

"Of course." He leaned in kissing the sensitive spot just below and behind her ear. "You'll just beg and plead and moan for it, if memory serves correctly." She blushed, but pulled him closer.

"Bend your silly moral code a smidge and we'll negotiate."

Carmichael chuckled. "First you're going on dates with other guys and now you're giving ultimatums. Is this the beginning of the end?"

"You tell me," she murmured as they reached the castle.

"Hmm. You should've been in Slytherin, Potter."

Lily grinned. "The Sorting Hat considered it," she admitted and blushed a little again, because she'd never actually told anyone that. "Although I'll deny it if you tell anyone."

"Now you're just playing dirty, Potter," he murmured, and Lily groaned a little as he pulled her around and against his front as they paused by the foot of the stairs, both hands moving to her hips. "And it's working." His mouth dragged up her neck, teeth nipping just below the corner of her jaw and then he kissed her.

The redhead felt a tingle of something that might have been desire in her belly, and kissed back. "So we have a deal?" she breathed when he broke away to kiss her neck again.

"Tell you what," he rumbled, suckling just under her collarbone, and Lily giggled, because it tickled. "I'll let you play middle witch one time, and you'll come rolling."

Lily snorted. "Try again," she hummed, and felt him smile against her throat.

"We don't have to fuck," he murmured into her ear. "And if your little friends can keep their mouths shut, we'll see if I can make an exception."

"So stubborn," she sighed.

He bit her and she laughed, shoving him. "Come on. That's my final offer, Potter."

Lily rolled her eyes. "You're setting yourself up to win either way."

Carmichael grinned. "Of course. Opportunist, after all."

"Mmm, fine," the redhead said at last, and tugged him back to kiss him. "But there will be no fucking," she added in a husky whisper as his hands went back up under her shirt and around her waist.

"If you insist Potter," Carmichael sighed, and then grinned and pulled back. They went up the stairs and she followed him up to his dorm. Once they were ensconced behind his bed hangings, she watched as he rolled her three joints. "And they have to pay," Carmichael added, pulling them back as she reached for them.

"Obviously," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Five Galleons a pop," he added, making Lily's brows shoot up, and he smirked. "I told you, you got the deal, Potter."

"Highway robbery," she said.

"Comfortable profit," he said, and Lily laughed. "Do you want me to put these away for you?"

"Where does the third one go?" she asked curiously. He smiled that killer smile and hooked a finger in the collar of her little black tee, tugging it down.

"I can show you." The first one went into the left cup of her bra, the second in her right. Carmichael adjusted her shirt back up, then lifted the left side by the bottom hem. She lifted her arm instinctively and the third one went, with a deliberate brush of fingertips up her ribs that tickled and made her bite her lip as her nipples hardened and goosebumps erupted over her skin, just under the band of her brassiere, behind the cup. And when his hand slid down her ribs, palm flat, and then further to her hip, thumb brushing suggestively at the tender flesh just inside, Lily couldn't deny it. There was a definitely more than a tingle of desire now.

"Now you're playing dirty," she said, eyes narrowing as he grinned smugly, as if he knew precisely how she felt about the simple gesture of putting a joint in her bra.

"Let's hope it's working." Carmichael leaned in and kissed her, hand moving away as she tugged her shirt back down. "And don't make plans for next Friday."

"I'll try to remember. It's hard 'cause I'm so unbearably popular now that I'm the Pep Queen and all," she murmured, smirking, and gave his lip ring one last bite. Carmichael chuckled before he undid the enchantments and they climbed out from behind the bed hangings. Hank Zipzer was in the dormitory, and glanced up with a menacing scowl at Lily's appearance. "Thanks, Carmichael," she purred and pushed a hand through his hair.

"Friday, Potter."

"You bet," she said, winking, and breezed out of the dorm and hustled to her own. She arrived slightly breathless and froze for a second when Matilda was the only one there. "Oh, um, hey," she said, feeling awkward.

Matilda frowned a little, eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Hi. What's wrong? You look like you're either gonna run away or confess to murder."

Lily laughed nervously. "Um, just stressed over stupid Pep Team. Already. And that pretty much sums it up, actually. Because I have three Fifth Years on my team who all think they're going to replace me next year, but they don't even know the basics yet." Which was true, but not the reason she was being paranoid.

Matilda laughed. "I heard about that. Congrats, I guess." Lily grimaced, moving to her bed, making sure she didn't walk too close to the other witch, not wanting her to catch a whiff. Friendly though they might be now, after the first five years being nemeses and dorm mates, Lily didn't doubt Matilda, as a Prefect, would rat her out if she knew she had weed.

"Thanks, but honestly, I'd rather take a dip with the Giant Squid in December than do it. But Professor Longbottom said if I declined, we wouldn't compete, and I felt guilty." And her cousin Rose would probably never forgive her. She made a mental note to ask Rose at Christmas for some tips and help.

"Well that's a noble thing you did," Matilda said firmly. "Even if it's an awful non-sport." Lily bristled a little at that, but let it go and merely shrugged.

After her dorm mate headed out, Lily quickly relieved her person of drugs, put them in a plastic container, which she hid in a sock and in the bottom of her trunk. "Perfect," she murmured, and smiled, then went to shower. By the time she got out, Cheryl had come upstairs, looking pissed.

"What's up?" Lily murmured, getting dressed quickly in jeans and a clean t-shirt. This one was a colour she liked to call gold, although most foolishly thought it was yellow.

"Sixth Year is going to blow."

Lily frowned. "Why?" She'd thought so, but it wasn't so bad. Minus the Pep Team fiasco that she'd somehow become Captain of.

"Because all of my dorm mates are hooking up, Godric, even bloody Matilda, and I just got stood up on my first date of the year."

Lily's mouth fell open. "By who?" she demanded.

"Whom," Cheryl muttered, and sighed. "And it doesn't matter. He made his point."

The redhead sat on Cheryl's bed and hugged the dark haired witch. "Well I haven't made mine. I want to curse whoever that fucker is," she said firmly.

Cheryl's mouth twitched. "Seriously, it's fine. I half expected it." Lily frowned some more, suspicious now. "Anyway, I'm just being a Debbie Downer for a minute. I'll be good," she said. Lily hugged her again, then got up and headed down for a very late lunch.

She spotted the Pellard twins and grabbed a seat across from them. "Hey, you girls wanted me to ask that favour, right?" she said, aware there were people within earshot. Hope's brow furrowed but Faith's blue eyes widened. "If you're interested, I have a sort of answer."

"Hell yeah!" she said and then Hope caught on.

"Oh! Yeah, we're down!"

"I'll explain later," Lily said pointedly, and tucked into her lunch.

After dinner that night, when Lily was certain Matilda was in the common room, talking with Dave and busy for hopefully awhile, she rounded up her other dorm mates and pitched them the idea. Minus the bit about what Carmichael was getting besides his gold.

"Five Galleons?" Cheryl murmured. Lily gave her a significant look.

"I told you, last Easter break, it's that good shit." Cheryl sighed, but the girls paid up, and Lily gave them their contraband. "And if you get caught with it, I don't know where you got it from and I'm appalled you break those kinds of rules." The twins laughed and Cheryl snorted as Lily tucked the money safely in her trunk.

XXX


	5. Chapter 5

**Wish Upon a Star**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational drug use, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Sunday passed in a blur of finishing homework, which wasn't as voluminous as last year, but much more difficult and time consuming. Lily was already almost afraid for NEWTs. Monday started with a nice lie-in, and got steadily worse. It poured nonstop all day, and Lily cursed herself inwardly for accepting the stupid Pep Team Captain role for the hundredth time, certain she'd end up practising in the rain when Tuesday morning looked to promise more of the same. To her surprise, and undying gratitude, the sun came out around noon and stayed out, and Lily decided to take it as a good omen, even though she'd forgotten, already, how to read omens from Divination.

The girls arrived on time for Pep Practice and Lily put the screws to them the second they'd finished stretching. By the end of the hour, Lily was hot, sweaty, grumpy, and had tied her hair up without thinking, and it looked a mess. But some of the girls had promise, and she felt confident she could whip the others into shape enough she wouldn't embarrass herself or her House by the Pep Final in June. They were just wrapping their cool down when the Hufflepuff Quidditch team sauntered onto the pitch. Lily tried not to blush, because the sun was hot and she'd been working hard, and had stripped right down to her tank top that rode up her stomach a little.

"What a way to start practice, am I right, lads?" the Hufflepuff Quidditch Captain, Henry Dawson, a Seventh Year with an easy smile and angular face said, grinning at Lily in her tank and leggings, broom over his shoulder.

Against their will, Lily's eyes flicked to MacDougall for a moment, then she forced herself to turn to her team. The Fifth Years preened, the two Sixth Years giggled together a little and cast dreamy eyes at Robertson, and Missy Daniels was covertly checking out Dawson. "Alright, that's practice, ladies. See you all next time, and if you're late, you'll regret it." She smiled lightly at Dawson. "Pitch is all yours, boys."

"Stick around, Potter. We'll see how distracting you are for the lads," Dawson said. "Then maybe you can jump in the shower with me after."

Lily arched a brow and laughed. "Oh Godric, that's funny. Like I'd be getting in with you, Dawson." She smirked and patted his cheek when he grinned and rolled bright green eyes, a few shades darker than Albus's but close enough to remind her of him whenever she met them. "Have fun playing with your balls." She turned, glancing at MacDougall again, smiling ever so slightly at him, and then headed off the field.

She could tell Dawson, and possibly a few others, checked out her ass as she went to go grab her hoodie, because she felt awkward as she walked away and hustled back up to the castle. But at least she'd avoided a big crowd like at tryouts.

After dinner she went for a walk with Carmichael to smoke a joint and paid him his gold. "Nicely done, Potter," he teased. Lily rolled her eyes as they ducked under the cover of the Forest. "I heard you and your little Pep Team practiced today."

"Oh yeah?" she murmured, puffing off the joint. "News travels fast."

Carmichael grinned. "Dawson is a paying customer, and he asked if we're hooking up this year. I reckon he might want in your knickers, Potter."

Lily laughed. "He can get in line," she teased. Carmichael took the joint as she passed it, pulling her close as he leaned against a tree. "Not that the line's moving right now," she added.

His dark eyes rolled. "Don't remind me." He smirked a little, took a long drag off the joint, and his free hand moved down over her ass. "But Friday should be enjoyable."

It was Lily's turn to roll her eyes. "You're not getting laid," she said. He laughed.

"Stop reminding me." She kissed him. "Either way," he murmured, and passed the joint. She took a drag and then heard a foot crunching over dry underbrush and saw a wand light bobbing beside them. Her eyes widened in alarm as Carmichael swiftly reclaimed and Vanished the joint, then fixed his mouth over hers. She exhaled, as he inhaled and pressed closer to him as he huffed the smoke out in a thin cloud, directly upward. His lips moved over hers again, one hand fisting in her hair, the other lifting her thigh around his hip, and the kiss deepened rapidly.

"You're out of bounds," someone said, and Lily pulled back even as Carmichael rolled his eyes. Because they both recognized the sound of Hank Zipzer's voice.

"So are you," Carmichael pointed out. Lily bit her lip and pressed her face into his neck, trying not to laugh as Zipzer gaped.

"You're going to get detention," he said nastily.

Carmichael shrugged and Lily turned around, frowning. "And I'll make sure you do too, Zipzer."

Indeed, after they all went back to the castle, Lily, despite feeling dead terrified, was determined if she got in shit, Zipzer would, too. She stopped on the way to the Headmistress's office to 'use the loo', which consisted of dropping her eyes, performing a few Freshening Charms on her person, and pep talking herself, even though Zipzer protested the entire time.

Professor McGonagall looked mightily displeased when they all arrived in her office, the portraits of sleeping former Headmasters and Headmistresses lining the walls. McGonagall sat behind her desk and Lily felt a tremble of fear. "Sit," she said, Conjuring another chair identical to the other two chairs before her desk, and they all sat. "What is the meaning of this intrusion?"

"Professor," Zipzer began, "I apprehended these two in the Forbidden Forest, which is notably off limits to students."

Lily fought the urge to interrupt McGonagall, who asked sharply, "Doing what?"

"They were-" Zipzer faltered for a second, blushing pink, and Lily rolled her eyes.

"We were making out, Professor," she said pointedly. Carmichael smirked. "And I'd like to point out that Zipzer was in the Forest, too. So he also broke a school rule."

"I was enforcing the rules!" he snapped back, turning toward Lily.

She narrowed her squinty eyes more. "Did you see us walk into the Forest?" the redhead asked, sitting back, folding her arms.

"Enough," Professor McGonagall said, standing up. "Zipzer, did you witness them-?"

"No, Professor, but I knew they were probably-"

"Did someone tell you, or did you venture into the Forest on a gamble?" the Headmistress cut in.

"Well," Zipzer said, going pink again, "I had a very good notion they would be-"

"So you went in even though there was a chance you might not find them, or the possibility that they might not even be there?" McGonagall said. Lily barely held back her triumphant smile.

"I…" Zipzer seemed lost for words.

"All three of you will serve detention, for three nights, inside the Forest with Hagrid. And I can guarantee you won't like it. Report to him at seven thirty on Wednesday. You may go." The Headmistress sat back. "Miss Potter, if you could please stay a moment." Lily glanced in alarm at Carmichael who shrugged, almost imperceptibly, but his fingertips skimmed up her arm as he passed by. Once the boys had left, Lily fidgeted as Professor McGonagall looked at her with a very serious expression.

"Am I in trouble?" she murmured, hoping to Godric the answer was no.

"That remains to be seen, Miss Potter," the Headmistress said, mouth thin. "Normally I don't endeavor to be acquainted with students' personal lives, but I would caution you, Miss Potter, that continued fraternization with Mr. Carmichael will undoubtedly be detrimental to your time here at school." Lily blinked, half torn between laughing and tell McGonagall to fuck off.

"Um," she said, with a hesitant amount of outrage, "with all due respect Professor, Carmichael's not the worst influence." She braved a glance at the Headmistress, who looked forbidding.

"Be that as it may, Miss Potter, the fact remains, he-"

"He gets good grades, he respects me, and he's not just pretending to like me because my dad is Harry Potter. So no offence, Professor, the fact remains, I'm probably going to keep seeing him." She sucked in a breath after her little impassioned speech and almost bit her tongue in half. She'd just back chatted, after interrupting, the fucking Headmistress! Oh dear Godric. Here came more detentions.

McGonagall gave her a long searching look and Lily tried to keep her eyes open, even as her heart thudded, loud and nervous, in her ears. "Very well, Miss Potter," she said at last. "That is all. But keep in mind," she added as Lily stood up, "your aunt Hermione sits on the Board of Governors and I know Professor Longbottom writes to your father regularly. Goodnight."

Lily's mouth fell open as she hustled back down out of the Headmistress's office, and didn't hear the murmur from one of the portraits of former Heads saying, "Minerva, she is the granddaughter of Lily Evans. Do you truly believe she will listen?"

Carmichael was waiting at the end of the corridor for her. "What the bloody hell was that about?" he murmured. Lily rolled her eyes, heart still pounding.

"McGonagall felt the need to let me know my 'continued fraternization with you' would be 'detrimental'." Dark brows lifted. "Right?" Lily laughed softly.

"Shit. I never thought McGonagall hated me so much," he drawled, smirking, and Lily giggled as they headed back toward Gryffindor Tower.

"Don't worry, I defended your honor," she murmured, and they ducked into a secret passageway that would take them right up toward the Fat Lady's corridor. "Because, y'know," she added as they passed through the dim passageway that wound steadily upward, "I am the best pretend girlfriend."

"You are, Potter," he agreed, smiling, and reached for her hand just as they got to the end of the passage. He pulled her close, kissing her, hands roving up under her shirt and with confidence over her bra. "The question is," he murmured, mouth moving down her neck, "are you going to be more than that?"

"Are you asking me out?" she breathed, then kissed him, suckling on his lip ring.

"Maybe."

Lily hesitated then opened her mouth to tell him to sod off, because he was smiling and she couldn't tell if he was joking around or not, but instead she found herself saying, "If you take me on a real date, I'll consider it." His brows lifted.

"A real date?" he drawled.

"Uh huh," she said softly, and her palms moved up and over his shoulders. "Like to Hogsmeade."

He snorted. "What are we, Third Years?" he teased, nipping her neck then kissing it.

"No," Lily conceded. "But I already told you I don't really want to be a slut this year, so if you're serious about for real dating, you better man up and ask me out properly."

"You're a dork, Potter," he murmured, grinning.

Lily leaned in and kissed his neck, then his jaw, and then bit his earlobe. "Maybe. But you like it," she breathed.

"Maybe," he conceded. "Fine. Want to come on a real date with me to Hogsmeade? We'll have coffee at Puddifoot's, then make out, then go smoke a fatty at the Shrieking Shack, and since you're not a slut, I won't get lucky. Again."

Lily laughed, head dropping back. Carmichael kissed her throat. "Wow, I can tell you're trying to be ultra romantic, Carmichael. But yes, I'd love to go on a real date with you. That sounds so fun." He chuckled. "But you also have to buy me Chocolate Cauldrons at Honeydukes', and hold my hand and shit. That's standard date procedure."

He laughed now. "Fine." They snogged for awhile longer, and Lily finally grunted as Carmichael tested the limits of her shirt's neckline. "You're going to stretch my third favourite shirt," she grumbled, pushing him back. He laughed softly and she bit his lip ring.

"It's called Reparo, Potter."

"That's funny, I thought you'd just tell me to take it off." She smirked, pulled him in for one last heated kiss, then slipped from between him and the side of the passage. "But I'm going to go be a dork and finish my homework. See you in detention."

"Sure you will," he murmured and she smiled. "Goodnight, Potter."

"'Night, Carmichael."

Once up in her dorm, Lily was feeling distinctly mellow, if still a little offended McGonagall had tried to meddle in her personal life, probably just because she was Harry Potter's daughter. Which, although irritating, wasn't precisely surprising. Hell, her father had probably asked for weekly update reports for all she knew. It wouldn't be surprising anyway.

Wednesday evening found Lily standing beside Hagrid's hut with Zipzer, waiting for Carmichael and seven thirty, so detention would start and be over sooner.. She'd come straight from stupid Pep Team practice, was already exhausted, and wanted nothing more than to go shower and pass out. The former she hadn't seen all day, while the latter promised to arrive in less than a minute.

Zipzer was scowling and looked at his own watch. "Late," he grumbled, looking furious. Lily smirked and Zipzer glared at her. As her first serious boyfriend, they had dated most of Lily's fourth year, and broken up after she'd given him her virginity in a broom closet on the second floor and he'd told anyone and everyone who would listen all about it the next day. "Stop smirking, Potter. This isn't funny."

Lily smiled blandly. "Sure it is. You think you're above the rules and you're not. It's hilarious, and at least I got detention for a really good snog that was definitely worth it. You got detention for being nosy."

Zipzer glared, but before he could reply, Hagrid's cabin door boomed open and the gigantic man stepped out. Hagrid, whom she'd know forever, beamed at her. "Hello, Lily!" he said. "Jus' go' a letter from your Dad!" Then he frowned massively, although his beetle black eyes shone. "So you're part of my detention party, then?" he said gruffly.

The redhead mushed her lips together, because Zipzer looked half terrified when Hagrid glanced at him. "Yes," she said calmly. Hagrid's bushy, salt and pepper brows pulled together and he looked sharply at Zipzer again. "And no, Hagrid, I wasn't caught making out with that, if you were wondering."

Hagrid's shoulders shook a little as Zipzer's eyes narrowed, mouth curling in derision, and then the half-giant pointedly looked around. "So where's the last one?"

"Undoubtedly partaking in some sort of heinous rule flouting, obviously," Zipzer said loftily and Lily almost smiled, because he sounded like a bloody ponce.

"What?" Hagrid asked distractedly.

Zipzer's eyes rolled and Lily intervened. "He means Carmichael's probably not coming. But we should get started."

Hagrid shrugged, and started with long strides toward the Forest. "I'll be reporting his absence to the Headmistress," Zipzer said importantly, jogging along after Hagrid, who snorted. Lily rolled her eyes at Hagrid's elbow.

"What are we doing tonight?" Lily asked as though this were a Care of Magical Creatures class instead of detention.

"Some o' the Thestrals go' scale rot, so you'll be givin' 'em their medicine." They walked deep into the Forest, Lily feeling perfectly at ease with Hagrid right there, and smirked as Zipzer crashed along behind them. They finally made it to a clearing with a massive portion of dead cow on the ground and the redhead grimaced at the smell.

Zipzer's whole face went white. "This can't be hygienic."

Lily laughed, and started as something brushed against her. She couldn't see any Thestrals, but felt their presence and saw chunks being torn from the cow. "Hagrid, how are we going to give them medicine if we can't see them?" Lily asked, feeling something else brush her sleeve.

Hagrid chuckled, pulled a large tin of ointment from his pocket with something purple and crusty around the edge of the lid. "Yeh use your hands, Lily," he said kindly, and patted something invisible right beside her. "Dragona likes you. She's normally eating her fill."

Zipzer looked confused. "We have to just stumble around, feeling for scale rot on Thestrals?" he asked in a choked voice. Hagrid frowned.

"This almost sounds fun," Lily said, smiling, and Hagrid beamed, then handed her the ointment. He passed another tin to Zipzer. The redhead almost gagged when she opened it, because it smelled awful. Like onions and manky cheese and something that might have been burning sulphur. "Oh Godric!" She did gag a little, holding the tin at arms length. "Ew, Hagrid, what is this!?"

"Medicine," he said simply. "Now you two go' ten Thestrals here, so get tendin' to 'em. Just the legs, all four on all of 'em, all the way up. I'll check if you done alrigh' when you're finished."

Lily gagged again, rethinking her assumption this would be fun. She wanted to put gloves on before she put her hand in the sticky purple goo, but manned up. She snorted as Zipzer choked. Hagrid moved to the edge of the clearing and plonked down contentedly on a log, supervising. Lily reached out blindly and her hand bumped something smooth and leathery and entirely invisible. It was unnerving, especially when the creature brushed her hair, but she patted the beast reassuringly. "Hello," she said to the Thestral. "Hagrid, what one is this?" she called, feeling across the bony creature to its rump.

"We're not supposed to be having a conversation, Potter," Zipzer snapped. "Detention is to mull over what you've done wrong."

Lily laughed. "Sorry," she said pointedly. "I'd have thought you'd be impressed I'm trying to obtain knowledge from one of our illustrious members of staff." Zipzer snorted as Lily held her breath and started slathering purple goop on the Thestral's leg.

"That's Dragona," Hagrid called.

Lily sent Zipzer a gloating smirk. "Hello, Dragona," Lily murmured, and felt something brush her hair. She felt around blindly for another leg, determined to try to enjoy herself and piss off Zipzer as much as possible, although she couldn't help wondering where Carmichael was and what he thought he was playing at skipping detention. "I'm sorry you have scale rot," she said, smiling and wrinkling her nose against the stinky medicine. "Hopefully this clears it all right up soon."

An hour later, stinking up to high heaven and, unfortunately, with a smear of purple goo across her cheek from a feisty Thestral named Mortimer, Lily trudged back up to the castle with Zipzer, who looked furious. "I can't believe that lummox ditched," the Seventh Year Prefect grouched as they passed through the Entrance Hall. Lily laughed.

"Really? Wow, you must be an idiot. What makes you think Carmichael would come to detention when he barely goes to class?" the redhead drawled. Zipzer sent her a dirty look.

"What does that make you, then, Potter, for sleeping with him?"

The redhead smiled. "It makes me a genius. He's a god between the sheets and skiving class has nothing to do with it." She snorted a little. "Then again, maybe it does. I mean, you've never skived, right? And you sucked." She put on a mock thoughtful expression as Zipzer glared. "Maybe I'll have sex with Carmichael in that closet so I'll have some good memories of it."

Just as she got to the foot of the stairs, Zipzer spluttering and speechless with indignation and outrage beside her, she heard someone call her name, and gratefully turned away from the detestable Prefect. And then she wished said person hadn't called her, because it was MacDougall, and she was gross, smelly, and pretty sure she looked awful. "Hey," she said, pausing six feet away. "You probably don't want me to come closer. I stink."

MacDougall chuckled, eyes crinkling. "I can smell you from here. What is that?"

Lily blushed. "Apparently the remedy for scale rot in Thestrals," she said and MacDougall smirked, moving closer. "Seriously, though I smell bad."

"Seriously, Potter," he said softly. "I grew up on a farm and I can honestly promise you...you smell worse than anything I've ever had to smell. Ever."

Lily laughed. "What can I say?" she said lightly. "I'm a girl of many talents." She looked down, blushing a tiny bit, then glanced back up. "So I've been thinking about your offer to teach me to fly." It put her at ease to see him shuffle on the spot a little. "Still game? Knowing, of course, you'll hold my very valuable life in your hands and I'll beat you up if I fall."

One corner of his mouth quirked. "If you die, will I still get beat up?"

The redhead grinned. "Count on it. Four hundred Weasleys, remember?"

MacDougall laughed. "That's almost enough to scare a fellow off," he said, his Scottish accent softening the vowel sounds melodiously.

"Combined with the smell it might tip the scales," she said. "So?"

"If you promise not to smell like that, sure," he teased and she rolled her eyes, shoving him lightly. He didn't budge.

"Seriously, MacDougall, you're supposed to pretend I'm hurting you."

He grinned. "Like a gnat hurts a troll, maybe."

Lily laughed. "Am I the gnat? Rude. I'm not annoying."

"Hey, that makes me the troll, and I like to think I'm at least better looking than one."

Lily giggled. "Definitely better looking than your average troll," she agreed.

"Ouch, Potter. When is good for you?" He smirked. "Presumably when you aren't doing your Pep Team training?"

She blushed. "Please don't bring that up," she sighed. "Um, how about Saturday?"

"It'd have to be in the evening."

The redhead nodded. "Works for me." She knew from seeing the pitch schedule the Hufflepuff Quidditch team had training in the late afternoon. She'd booked the pitch for the hour beforehand for her Pep Practice.

"Cool. Seven?"

"It's a date," she said. MacDougall grinned. "And I promise I'll smell better."

He shrugged. "You kind of get used to it, honestly," he said, then leaned down, his face a little pink, and kissed her on the cheek that was free of purple goo. "See you then, Potter."

"Bye," she sighed and hustled upstairs to shower and gloat with her dorm mates. After she was clean and most of the smell had been washed away, Lily pulled on her pyjamas and listened as Hope dished about her own date with Bartleby.

Just as she'd settled herself into bed, there was a tap at the dormitory window, and Lily glanced over, mouth dropping open. She all but bounded out of bed, heart pounding in her throat, stomach clenching in mingled anxiety and excitement. Because there, sitting on the window ledge, looking weary, was Albus's owl Leona. And she was carrying three fat envelopes. The redhead threw the window open, startling poor Leona, who hooted indignantly, and nipped her when she reached for the letters. Lily didn't care.

One was from Albus, the other two from Scorpius, and she tried to swallow and breathe normally, hands shaking as she undid the letters. Leona took flight once relieved of her burden, probably to go rest up in the Owlery. "What's with the post so late?" Cheryl asked. Lily's stomach dropped, because she didn't want to admit Albus had owled her, and not Cheryl.

Lily couldn't hold back her massive smile as she turned though. "It's from Scorpius," she breathed. The twins and Matilda stopped talking as Cheryl gaped.

"Read them out loud!" the twins demanded in tandem.

"No, let her have them for herself," Matilda said fiercely.

Cheryl swallowed. "All three from Scorpius?" she asked pointedly. Lily bit her lip and cast her dark haired friend an apologetic look. "Whatever," she said blandly. "No big deal. Enjoy your post."

Lily sat down in bed and opened Al's letter first. There were two letters crammed into one envelope. Lily opened the first one, and her eyes vaguely registered the words boobs, mouth, hot, and Cheryl. She practically threw the parchment aside with a loud, "Ew!" Her dorm mates looked at her, but Lily frowned at Cheryl. "That one's for you," she said, pointing to it.

Cheryl snatched up the pieces of parchment, going bright red, and tossed them casually aside. "Cool. I'll read it later." Lily smothered her smirk, knowing Cheryl would die rather than admit she was possibly more pleased than Lily at Leona's delivery. The redhead opened her letter from Albus, which was more like a short note, and a thick wad of folded parchment fell out into her lap.

_Lily,_

_It's come to my attention I missed your birthday. Oops. My bad. How old are you again? Just kidding. So, here's your very belated present, and I shall merely say you're welcome in advance. You probably think I'm daft and I've just given you a wad of paper. Wrong again little sister! Remember all those times Scor and I mentioned the Map? Voila. Guard it with your life, use it only for wreaking havoc, and if I ever find out you used it to avoid detention, my work as an older brother will be done. Happy belated birthday, Lils._

_Love, Al._

_PS. - You must solemnly swear you are up to no good, and always, ALWAYS, make sure when you're done, you say Mischief Managed. Otherwise anyone can read it._

_PPS. - Don't write back. I don't actually care how old you are._

Lily stared in blank disbelief. This was supposed to have been confiscated a half dozen times over. She sucked in a deep breath, glanced furtively around at her dorm mates, and casually tucked the Map, the Marauder's Map, the bit of parchment she'd heard stories about from almost all of her family members, and the relic that was supposed to be locked in her father's desk drawer at home. And now it had been, finally, passed down to her. She debated who to tell then decided to keep it to herself for the time being.

And then she looked at Scorpius's two letters. She didn't want to cry in front of everyone, so she closed herself in her curtains, cast a Silencing Charm, and sucked in a deep breath. A massive part of Lily was dying to tear into the envelopes. Another, smaller part of her was afraid of what they might say. She opened the first one and then the second one, and started the letters chronologically, of which there were five total, three in the first envelope, two in the second.

By the time she put the first letter down, she was crying and hated it. She missed him. She could picture him in the places he described. She could imagine him in the scenarios with locals abroad he wrote about with amusement. It was as if she was there with him.

She couldn't handle the rest. Not all in one night. And so the redheaded witch refolded the other four, wiping her face hurriedly as she sniffled a bit. She wouldn't miss him. She would be there with him, in her imagination. She undid her charm and opened the curtain, but when her eyes flicked, from habit, to the Remembrall and saw it was a very deep green, they filled with tears again. Lily swallowed hard and tucked the other, unread letters into her nightstand drawer with the Marauder's Map. She stared for one long moment at the Remembrall, recalling every perfect memory of Scorpius that had been branded on her brain, picked up the first letter, reading it again, letting herself get lost in the words, painting pictures in her mind.

XXX


	6. Chapter 6

**Wish Upon a Star**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational drug use, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Lily was almost surprised when Carmichael showed up for detention the next night, except that he was accompanied by Professor Specter, the Ravenclaw Head of House and Potions Master. And Professor Specter did not look happy. Carmichael looked bored, and seemed unfazed by Hagrid, and Lily suspected he was stoned off his face. He flashed her the perfect smile as they followed in Hagrid and Zipzer's wake into the Forest. Lily rolled her eyes but smiled back.

They got stuck putting the ointment on the Thestrals again, and Lily wanted to cry a little bit. She'd washed her hair three times and was convinced the smell was ingrained. Carmichael made a face, but put the ointment on without complaint. After they finished, making sure to 'massage it righ' in there!' as Hagrid had instructed, Lily shuddered and used a dozen rounds of Scourgify on herself. By the time they got back to the edge of the Forest, Lily wanted nothing more, yet again, than to shower and crawl into bed. Instead, at the half giant's request, and because she really didn't want to hurt his feelings, Lily stayed for a very late cuppa with Hagrid.

"I jus' wanna know, Lily," he said gently as she drank her steaming tea as quickly as possible, "if yeh've told yer mum and dad 'bout dating tha' Carmichael fella?" Her whole face went bright red, even as Hagrid's cheeks became a touch ruddier.

"Um, I don't think I…" Lily faltered at Hagrid's stern stare. "I'm not really dating Carmichael," she said, staring at her tea, wishing she was anyplace else. This was worse than detention.

Hagrid frowned for a beat, but sighed. "Alrigh'," he said at last. "So how come you didn' take my class this year?"

Lily was almost grateful for the subject change. Even if she didn't have any good answer for Hagrid other than, 'I'm a wuss in the cold'.

At last Friday came, and Lily spent her double free period smoking a blunt with Carmichael by the far side of the lake. And after it was finished and Lily was higher than a kite and they'd put their eye potion in, the redhead leaned into him against the growing chill. "So I heard a funny rumour in Charms class," Carmichael said after they'd started slowly back to the castle for dinner. Lily had noticed he'd been even more quiet than normal and glanced sidelong at him.

"Yeah? You actually attended Charms class?" she teased.

He smirked a little. "Yeah. Crazy, right?"

"Insane." She slung an arm over his shoulders. "So what'd you hear? Let me guess, someone thinks we're fucking, or I'm a slut, or you're a tosser for skiving detention?"

"Wrong, Potter," Carmichael said, pulling her closer with an arm around her waist. They paused halfway back to the castle. "I heard you're cheating on me again." He smiled and she rolled her eyes.

"Hardly," she drawled. "For one, we're not dating." Carmichael rolled his eyes back, pulling her gently to face him. "And two, if you mean MacDougall, I'm going on a non-date date with him."

"A non-date date with someone who's not your pretend boyfriend. That's like phantom cheating." Lily laughed and Carmichael kissed her neck. "You know what that means."

"What?" she giggled, pushing him back when he nibbled a sensitive portion of flesh.

"You might be a tiny bit of a slut." He grinned and she smacked him. "Ow! Savage."

Lily pulled away and they started back up to the castle. "So when are we going rolling?" she asked at last. Carmichael's brows lifted ever so slightly and she grinned. "Don't tell me you forgot?"

"Of course not." He pulled her closer, arm around her waist again. "I just figured I'd wait for you to remember." Lily snorted.

"I'm still not fucking you," she said pointedly. Carmichael merely laughed.

After a late dinner, which they sat at their respective House tables for, they met up in the Entrance Hall and Lily took the little pill Carmichael gave her, then they went for detention.

An hour later, never having slathered goo on a Thestral's legs so quickly, Lily was high as a kite, tingly and warm, unbearably aware of her bra against her nipples, which were hard, and enjoying the feeling of Carmichael's hand in her own as they walked back to the castle. She'd gotten most of the excess ointment off, but the smell was kind of souring the high.

"Feeling it?" he murmured, smirking at her. She smiled back, sucking in a breath and licking her lips. She wanted to bite his lip ring.

"Uh huh," she breathed. His grin widened.

"Want to come take a shower?" he drawled against her ear, low and husky and raking over her altered consciousness pleasurably. And the worst part was, she really did.

"I do," she admitted. Carmichael grinned, but she smirked. "But I'm not going to. Because you're a bad influence."

"But you smell awful, Potter."

She pulled him close and kissed him for long moments at the foot of the stairs. "You do too," she giggled, moaning into his mouth as his hands gripped her hips firmly. Her fingers clenched on his shirt.

"Mmm, so come shower with me." Lily hummed as his fingers crept up under her hoodie and tee, and gasped as the euphoric waves rippled through her at his touch. "We'll get hot and wet and naked and you can be a dork and not sleep with me."

Lily laughed. "Or I'll go to my own dorm and shower alone, and you can wank off thinking about it," she murmured and Carmichael chuckled.

"So lame," he murmured.

"You owe me a date," she breathed, pressing herself closer to him. "No fucking until after our date."

A dark brow lifted. "Should I be worried?"

"Worried?" she repeated, pulling back to look at him properly. She couldn't resist and leaned in to bite his lip ring.

"Are you gonna fuck MacDougall after your non-date date?" he drawled. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Totally," she said sarcastically. "It worked great for me last year, hopping into bed with some Hufflepuff dude without a proper date, right? Really bolstered my good image."

Carmichael frowned a tiny bit, but then leaned in and kissed her. And it was hot, and soft, lots of tongue, and pretty perfect. Lily groaned as he pulled back, hands smoothing up his stomach. "So come take a shower, Potter. It will bolster your good image. And I've almost forgotten how much of you there is to touch."

The redhead bit her lip, groaning pleasurably as he suckled gently at her pulse point, and when one of his hands moved to her hair, making a fist, she all but melted. "Okay," she breathed, and kissed him again. "But you're still not getting lucky," she added, fingers biting into his shoulders after slipping up his chest.

"Seriously," he drawled, smirking, "stop reminding me."

Lily went up to Carmichael's dormitory, slipped into the bathroom with him, barely noting the empty dorm as they crossed it, and sucked in a deep breath, telling herself firmly she was in control. His mouth curved up after they were locked in, and chemical euphoria pumped through her veins as he moved closer and snogged her senseless, undressing her and touching her leisurely. His warm, sure hands slowly disconnected her from reality as they moved over her and she eagerly pushed his clothes aside, unbuttoning and unzipping without thought. By the time they actually made it to the shower, Lily was panting and moaning, halfway there already. And when the hot water came on, it felt amazing. "Oh Godric that feels great," she moaned, sagging against him, and Carmichael groaned into her neck.

"Fuck, Potter, you have no idea how hard you're making this," he grunted.

"Oh I have a pretty good idea how hard it is, Carmichael," she breathed, trying not to giggle. Indeed, she felt something decidedly hard pressing into her hip. She smirked, pulling back and pressing herself to the cool tile, humming at the pleasurable sensation, feeling her nipples go hard, and then harder still when his dark eyes dropped to them.

"Now you're just being a tease," he rumbled when she lifted her arms above her head, and her mouth curved into a smile. He pinned her lightly.

"Maybe," she murmured. "Then again, maybe not." He kissed her again, tongue pushing into her mouth and Lily felt her desire skyrocketing as his hands dragged down her arms and cupped the weight of her breasts, thumbing her nipples. Then he broke the kiss roughly to dip his head and take one hard nub into his mouth. They groaned in tandem, and Lily arched closer to the pleasurable sensation.

"Fucking hell, you're so hot," Carmichael grunted, teeth grazing sharply over her nipple, making her cry out. Her own hands roved over him greedily, touching all of him, enjoying the sounds of his satisfaction.

Lily gasped, fingernails digging into his back as she felt his hand glide down purposefully from breast to hip, then slowly inward. She couldn't help the grunt of satisfaction as his hand moved between her legs and Lily moaned, eyes falling shut as a finger teased her. "Unh, yes!" she said thickly.

"More?" Carmichael rumbled against her ear and the redhead bit her lip. She moved her arms to loop them around his neck, pulling him closer and then suckled his lip ring into her mouth even as molten arousal cranked up her internal temperature to boiling and she was practically aching for release. His mouth brushed the sensitive spot just below and behind her ear and she moaned, melting completely when he bit it gently. Lily met his very dark eyes, darker with the size of his pupils, and practically forced herself down onto his finger.

"More," she said throatily, and cried out with pleasure as he smiled and obliged her. Two fingers slipped into her and she moaned sharply as they curled deliciously in tandem with her toes. "Yes, yes, yes!" she moaned, wanting more, and whimpered her need.

Carmichael smirked as though he knew precisely how close she was to the precipice. "Godric, you're so fucking good," he growled, and she cried out as his thumb brushed the hub of her pleasure, fingers pumping in and out of her.

"Ah!" Lily whimpered as his thumb brushed her again and she was ready to climb the walls. "Fuck, please," she gasped, and then, with one last brush of his thumb, his dimple appearing as he smiled, the redhead came undone, crying out her completion vociferously as she clutched him with her arms, one leg hooking around his hips.

She groaned at the luxurious descent from ecstasy, feeling warm and liquid as the shower, and still hot and bothered, and smiled as she wrapped her hand around Carmichael's cock. "I hope you're planning on returning the favour," he groaned.

Lily smiled wider and leaned in, kissing him. "Not in the slightest," she said with confidence. Dark brows lifted and the redhead barely resisted laughing. "You're going to owe me a favour, Carmichael," she purred, nipping his lower lip, pulling her hand away from him and took a deep breath. The euphoric high and tingly warmth, enhanced by the hot shower, was guiding her into slutty territory, she was certain, but at the moment it was hard to care. And when Carmichael tilted her chin up and kissed her softly and persuasively, her mind was made up. She pulled back, gave him a wickedly naughty smirk, and dropped to her knees gracefully, tongue swirling over the head of his cock as she gripped him again, and he groaned raggedly as she took him into her mouth completely.

"Sweet fuck," he grunted, and Lily groaned back, enjoying his noises of pleasure as she sucked him off, and more than enjoying the way he tugged fistfuls of her hair.

A half hour later she was actually showered, and had discovered the source of Carmichael's elusive hint of bubble gum scent. And now her hair smelled like a bubble gum factory after using his shampoo. After she cleaned her clothes with magic, performing a couple extra Freshening Charms on them in an attempt to expel the scent of Thestral ointment once and for all, she got dressed and giggled, still high and a little horny, as Carmichael sat her up on the sink. "I'm guessing you're going to ditch now," he said after a long moment where their tongues warred for dominance and her clothes were rumpled. She pushed a hand through his damp hair.

Lily smiled. "Yup. Sorry, but I have Pep Practice at nine in the morning tomorrow. So no sleeping over and sleeping in with you." Even though that sounded like an amazing idea. And for one second her determination wavered, but then she sucked in a breath and got herself together. She couldn't just skive practice to hook up with Carmichael, she was the bloody Pep Team Captain!

"Dork." His hands smoothed up her thighs as hers went under his shirt.

"Pervert," she shot back, grinning. They slipped out of the bathroom and Lily tried not to roll her eyes as three other Seventh Year Ravenclaws, including Zipzer, stared back at her. She couldn't hold back her blush as easily. "You're a tosser," she breathed to Carmichael, and kissed his cheek. "Bye," she added in a normal tone.

"See you, Potter."

Lily tried to ignore the looks of Carmichael's dorm mates as she went to the door, but as she slipped out she distinctly heard the blond one with brown eyes she was pretty sure was named Jeffries say sourly, "That's such rubbish, Carmichael. You fucking tosser. How is a chick like Potter interested in a dolt like you?"

She paused but didn't catch Carmichael's reply and had to hold in her laugh as she hustled down and out of Ravenclaw Tower, heading back to her own dorm. The twins and Matilda were there and Lily assumed, by the closed bathroom door, Cheryl was in the bathroom. She breezed in, smiling, and flopped into bed, feeling warm and euphoric and high still, and smiled as she stared vaguely at the canopy of her bed, thinking about showering with Carmichael. It had been pretty fantastic as far as showers went.

"You smell like bubble gum," Hope finally said frowning. "Weren't you in detention again?"

"I was," Lily confirmed.

Faith frowned too as Matilda headed back down to the common room, presumably to study with Dave McEwan. "What was it tonight?"

"Same deal," Lily said grinning wider. "Thank Godric it's over."

"Then why don't you smell like you rolled around with a dozen pigs?" Hope demanded. "Last night you came in stinking to high heaven!"

The redhead giggled, unbuttoning her shirt to put her pyjamas on. "I took a shower," she said simply, and bit her lip to prevent a groan from slipping out as she pulled off her shirt. It was distinctly less enjoyable than when Carmichael had removed it, but still oddly pleasurable. She dug an oversized tee from her trunk.

The twins stared wide-eyed at her. "Where?" Faith demanded.

"Where what?" Lily stripped her bra and tugged the sleep shirt on.

Blue eyes rolled. "Where did you shower?" Faith asked. "It sure as hell wasn't here."

Hope's eyes narrowed. "And you smell like bubble gum," she repeated

Lily couldn't hold back the giggle this time, slipping off her jeans and socks and pulling on pyjama pants. "That's because Carmichael's shampoo smells like bubble gum. Which is kind of adorable, right? Like what sort of seventeen year old boy still has bubble gum scented shampoo? Mmm, but it smells nice," she admitted, sniffing her damp hair.

The twins almost squealed. "So you two are hooking up?" Faith demanded.

Lily shrugged. "I guess. Sort of. He has to take me on a proper date, first," she said, and laughed. "We're going to Hogsmeade in two weeks."

Hope frowned. "What about the other one? The Hufflepuff guy?"

"MacDougall?" The twins both nodded and Lily smiled. "What about him? We're going to hang out tomorrow, but he's not my boyfriend or anything."

Hope frowned a little and Faith said, sounding a little harsh, "Does he know about Carmichael?"

Lily frowned now. "Doesn't everyone? And does it matter?" she shot back. "If he asks I'll tell him. If not, then I won't." She forced a shrug. "Besides, it's not serious with Carmichael."

"Does he know that?" Hope drawled. Lily glared. "Seriously, Lily, I think Carmichael's got it bad for you."

The redhead shook her head. "No. And if he does he's got a funny way of going about it. Most guys would be a little more willing to admit they'd like dating a girl they like. And they wouldn't have to be forced into asking said girl out." She laughed. "And you're forgetting it's Carmichael. I'm just a giant dork that's fun to touch." She grinned, because he was just a stupid tosser who was equally fun to touch, and kiss, and lick, and make utterly incoherent. Lily highly doubted Carmichael felt anything other than amusement and a healthy dose of teenaged boy lust for her.

"You two are so fucking weird," Faith muttered, getting up as Cheryl came out of the bathroom. Lily grabbed her Charms homework from her bag and laid in bed, pretending to work on it while she actually replayed her evening in her head and thought about her non-date date tomorrow evening with MacDougall.

Would he be pissed if he found out she'd showered with Carmichael? She didn't know. If it were Scorpius, he'd have definitely been pissed. If it were Carmichael, he'd have laughed it off and told her he was next. But MacDougall was an unknown entity. Lily wasn't naive enough to think anyone would believe they hadn't fucked, and she was betting it would be all over the school tomorrow by breakfast. She sighed, doodling absently on a scrap of parchment.

She tried to think objectively, which was made harder by the chemical induced fuzziness, about how she would feel if she'd just found out MacDougall had had some other girl in a shower with him that evening. She could only giggle a little to herself at that thought, though, because she hoped if he had taken some other witch to shower, that MacDougall had gotten lucky. And that thought train lead straight to fantasy land, thinking about sex with MacDougall. What would it be like? She was betting pretty good. Lily imagined it, what he looked like naked, and she barely registered shifting from thinking to dreaming.

Saturday morning came far too early and Lily grunted, stiff and sore from sleeping on her Charms text, and smiled as she sat up, getting a tempting whiff of bubble gum from her hair and had a feeling it would be a good day.

She went down to breakfast after dressing for the day, spotting the other Pep Girls easily, and headed down to the pitch in the sunny, breezy morning to train. After an hour she dismissed the girls, reminding them to be back out that afternoon for the rest of their training session.

"Ugh, that's so lame," Kasey Michaels muttered. "Like, why do we have to have two training sessions in one day?"

"Totally," one of the Fifth Years mumbled. Lily thought her name was Annika Jones but couldn't be sure. She frowned massively.

"Of course, attendance at training is optional," she said sternly. "But the first time you skive, you're off the Team. And I can promise you, I'd rather not compete than deal with bitching. Got it, ladies?"

Missy Daniels smirked as Kasey looked mutinous. "Potter's right," Missy said lightly. "No one is asking you to be here, Michaels. Besides, if you wanna be a quitter, I'm sure Lexi has another friend who'd take your spot." Lily had a feeling she was talking about Stephanie Marsden.

Lexi looked distinctly awkward, but Kasey seemed to get the hint. Annika Jones pouted, but followed the other Fifth Year girls to the change rooms and up to the castle. Lily spent her morning writing Scorpius a lengthy reply to his first letter in a quiet, sunny corner of the common room, then went down to lunch, feeling people looking at her as she sat down at the Gryffindor bench. She barely held in the sigh and wasn't overly surprised when Percival Knight, a fellow Gryffindor Sixth Year, sat down beside her and slung an arm over her shoulders.

"Hey, Potter."

"Stop touching me," she said blandly, pouring herself some pumpkin juice. His arm moved. "What d'you want?"

"Grumpy," he teased. "What's wrong, no shower buddy this morning?"

"If you're going to suggest it be you, I'm not interested," she replied and smiled across at Knight.

"No offence, Potter," he said, arching a dirty blond eyebrow, "but I'm not interested. However, I know you're Pep Team Captain this year." Lily frowned, pleased she wasn't going to be hit on by some creeper, but confused now.

"So?" she asked.

Knight grinned. "So I know Kasey Michaels is on the Team." Lily grinned back.

"Aw, and you have a crush on her then, Knight?" He blushed the tiniest bit and Lily bit her tongue to hold back the giggle.

"Maybe," he admitted.

"So what does that have to do with me?" she asked tucking into her bangers and mash. "Are you asking me to put in a good word for you?"

Knight snorted. "I'm not desperate, Potter." Lily rolled her eyes. "I just want to know when your next little practice is going to be." She lifted her brows.

"Sorry, think again," she said lightly. She'd purposely kept an irregular training schedule and refused to give up the dates to anyone not on her Team. And even then, she only told the girls their next practice when they all arrived for practice.

Knight rolled his eyes. "C'mon Potter, you're supposed to be cool. Just tell me when you and your Pep girls are going to be shaking it next. I won't tell a soul."

Lily laughed. "No. I don't want a bunch of perverts staring at us when we practice."

Knight grinned. "Then how about you tell me, and I'll make sure all the perverts clear out?"

The redhead lifted a brow. "You're included in the perverts."

"Come on, Potter. Help a fellow out."

"What's in it for me?" she drawled. Knight blinked at her. "When you figure it out let me know. But I will put in a good word for you with Michaels." Knight sighed and got up, going back down the table and Lily smiled as Matilda sat down across from her, Dave joining them. "Hi," she said, smirking at the two of them. They smacked of having just snogged furiously. Matilda's hair was mussed on the left side and Dave's glasses had slipped down his nose.

"Hello," Matilda said, blushing faintly. "What did Knight want?" she asked, clearly not wanting to talk about her current state.

Lily shrugged. "He wants in Kasey Michaels's knickers," she said. Matilda choked on her pumpkin juice as Dave snorted.

"He's been crushing on her all year," Dave admitted.

"Aw, that's cute," Matilda said, smiling.

"Not when he wants to spy on my Pep Team Practice to get on her radar," Lily replied. Matilda rolled her eyes. She thought Pep Team was a 'waste of valuable study time'.

"Yeah, everyone's been trying to guess what schedule you've deduced," Dave said. Lily's brows rose. Maybe Matilda and Dave would serve a dual purpose. Not only had it mellowed Matilda and dulled her rule-upholding fervor as well as kept her far busier in the evenings, he was quite obviously a good listener, and had all the best gossip from the boys' dorms.

"Yeah?" Lily drawled. "Any guesses?"

Dave shrugged, eating his chicken with flawless table manners. "Your cousin Hugo said you'd probably try to keep everyone guessing. I heard Aaron Worthington was going to take a shifty at the pitch schedule to find out for sure, though."

Lily's mouth dropped open. "They can't do that!" she snapped.

Dave shrugged, Matilda's mouth quirked down to one side. "Well, technically he is the Quidditch Captain," she said slowly. "He's allowed to look at the schedule book."

The redhead's mouth pressed together firmly as she glanced down the table at where the Quidditch jocks congregated. Worthington and Williams from Seventh Year, her cousin Hugo and Milton Vaughan and Stuart Storey from Sixth Year, and their various non-Quidditch-playing friends, and some Fifth Years Lily didn't know except by sight. "Well if he blabs, he's going to wish he didn't," she muttered darkly, glaring a little.

"They're just sad, lonely blokes, Potter," Dave said softly. "They don't get that girls don't want to be ogled and have obscene suggestions shouted at them. And at least Hugo's alright." Matilda sighed and smiled up at him at this and Lily almost gagged at the sappiness.

"Well if you get the chance, tell them I said to grow up and they'd stand a better chance," she said. "Honestly, I'd rather get felt up by the Giant Squid than date any of them. Especially Hugo."

Dave smirked. "You can only lead the horse to water, Potter."

Lily laughed and glanced down the table again, and saw Aaron Worthington looking at her. He crooked his finger at her and she lifted her brows with haughty disdain. Not bloody likely. Instead she finished lunch, peeking over at the Hufflepuff table and smiling when she spotted MacDougall, even though he was unfortunately sitting beside Robertson. Her afternoon was spent on homework, in the silence of the Library, and she managed to plow through her Charms and make an impressive dent in her Potions.

XXX


	7. Chapter 7

**Wish Upon a Star**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational drug use, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

After a quick early dinner that night was Pep Practice part two, and Lily got down to the pitch early, scoping it out, relieved to see no one else there. After all the girls arrived, even a grumpy Kasey Michaels, she put them to work, practicing their routine for the upcoming Gryffindor versus Slytherin Quidditch game. And because they did reasonably well, Lily called practice a full five minutes early. "Kasey, let's talk for a second," she said as the girls, looking wiped, dispersed. The blonde haired green eyed witch frowned, but came over to where Lily stood, holding her cloak.

"Good practice," Kasey mumbled vaguely, and Lily smirked, knowing she was only saying it and had probably loathed practice.

"Look, I'm going to be straight with you. The Team needs you. You're one of the better girls, and you remember OWLs. The Fifth Years are going to fall apart on me, so I'd actually be fucked without you." The redhead sucked in a breath as Kasey's brows shot up, eyes wide. "I don't want to practice with an audience, so that's why the training schedule is crazy. We slip in where we can. So are you with me, or am I just fucked?" she finished, sighing.

Kasey's mouth pursed, but then she shrugged. "I'm with you, Potter. We'll get the little bitches into shape, don't worry."

Lily smiled in relief. Not having shared a dorm with the other Sixth Year girls, Lily wasn't particularly close to any of them, but she didn't mind Michaels so much. "Thanks. See you Wednesday." Kasey turned to go up to the castle, and Lily added, "Oh, and Percival Knight has a thing for you, so if you decide you want to date him, there's a no boyfriends at practice rule."

Michaels snorted. "Really? Knight?" She made a face. "Huh. Thanks, Potter."

"No worries."

Lily went into the little office to look at the schedule book and erase all trace of Gryffindor Pep Team. If someone wanted to be sneaky, she could be sneaky back, and took her time deleting all the dates she'd set, except the next one, and instead glanced at the blank spaces, making notes to herself on a scrap of parchment.

By the time she finished jotting down a few free dates to practice and closed the book and exited the little office, the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team was immersed in practice. She paused, watching for a moment, smiling to herself. MacDougall was easy to spot despite the speed at which they flew and her poor angle of viewing. Robertson, a fellow Sixth Year, and Dawson, the Captain, were also easy to pick out. And Lily couldn't help but notice that despite his size, MacDougall was awfully graceful on a broom.

She realized she was daydreaming when there was a sharp whistle blast and Lily started, blushing slightly, as Dawson landed a few feet ahead of her and dismounted. "Can I help you, Potter?"

The redhead pointedly didn't look at the rest of the team, hovering in the air behind Dawson, and smiled rigidly, embarrassed and grumpy in equal measure. "No," she said lightly.

The tall wizard smiled, his green eyes so much like Albus's he'd never stood a chance roved over her, and he sidled closer, into her personal bubble. "Then maybe one of my Beaters can help you. You were staring awfully hard, Potter," he said softly.

She hated that she blushed again, and shrugged, eyes roving pointedly down him. "You sound awfully jealous, Dawson," she said sweetly. "Then again, maybe it's all a ploy because I'm actually a spy for Gryffindor's team."

Dawson snorted and rolled his eyes. "Run along then, Potter." He moved to mount his broom and Lily grinned.

"Too much of a distraction for the lads?" she chuckled, and put her cloak on anyway.

Dawson smirked over his shoulder. "Just one, Potter."

Lily went up to the castle, took a shower, and headed right back down to the pitch, just in time to spot the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team ending practice. And she noticed she wasn't alone as she moved to sit on the edge of the short wall that ran around the pitch, as half a dozen other girls were watching, despite the growing cold. Her watch told her she was early, but she couldn't help feeling oddly calm as she waited for MacDougall to do…well, whatever it was guys did in change rooms after Quidditch practice. When it was seven oh four, he at last came out, and Lily felt a rush of nervousness all at once, biting her lip, blushing, and looking down as MacDougall came toward her.

She was thankful it was heavy twilight and the other people nearby migrated back toward the castle as she jumped off the low wall, even though it was colder without the sun, and smiled as MacDougall came to stand beside her, broom over his shoulder, wearing only a light sweater over his shirt, and emitting an obscene amount of heat. Lily couldn't help herself and moved in to hug him, arms around his neck and pressing herself close, sighing a little. "Normally I'd point out that you're late, but I'll forgive you, because you're warm," she said, pulling back a little.

"It's your fault for appearing out of nowhere in the middle of training," he replied, smiling.

"Sorry," she murmured, and smiled, blushing even more. "I was in the office after Pep Practice, and I didn't realize you lot would be-"

He leaned down and kissed her, very gently. "It's all good, Potter." He straightened. "So, don't think you can distract me from the real reason we're here," he said playfully, and nudged her. "You have to learn to fly, for real, Potter."

Lily snorted, rolling her eyes. "Best of luck teaching me," she challenged, and MacDougall grinned.

"Luck has nothing to do with it," he said with confidence. And to Lily's shock, an hour later, she was flying. It was terrifying, and she touched down after only going ten feet or so, and maybe only six feet in the air, but she flew.

The redhead felt a distinct rush of pride when she landed, thankful to be back on solid ground, and grinned foolishly at MacDougall. "I didn't die!" she said in amazement, and laughed, hugging him.

"You're almost better than Gryffindor's Quidditch Team," he teased with a smile, his soft brown eyes crinkling in the darkness lit only by the three quarter moon. She giggled with him and then pulled him down to kiss him softly.

"Thanks. You're a great teacher."

"Nay, you're just a good student," he replied. She grinned.

"The fear of imminent death is a good motivator to pay attention," she murmured. MacDougall chuckled. "And you really are a good teacher. My brothers tried to teach me to fly after I started Hogwarts, and I did awful. They both made me cry."

MacDougall smirked. "Aye, older brothers are a pain. Mine's old enough, though, we got on fairly well." His smirk widened. "And he's a Muggle, so I had to learn to fly all on my own."

Lily was surprised. "Are your parents Muggles too, then?" she asked curiously. The only Muggles she'd ever met personally were her Dad's cousin and Aunt, and they'd been dreadful, and her Aunt Hermione's parents a few times, and they'd been nice, but she'd been too young to ask them about actually  _being_  a Muggle.

"Aye," he said softly. "Bit of a shock on my eleventh birthday."

Lily smiled. She'd heard about her father's Hogwarts letter experience. "Are they cool with it, though?" she asked, tilting her head to look up at him, then jumped to sit up on the wall around the pitch again so she wouldn't have to crane her neck as far. MacDougall rested his broom gently beside her knee and leaned next to her. "You being a wizard?"

MacDougall shrugged. "Sure. My mam was pleased. Apparently her Aunt was a witch, but I always thought she was a little kooky myself." Lily laughed. "My brother wasn't pleased I'd be going away for most of the year, since he'd have all my farm chores, but he doesn't mind."

Lily felt him holding back. "And your dad?" she asked without thinking and then wished she hadn't when he frowned. "Sorry, I didn't-"

"Nay, it's fine," he said flatly. "My da is convinced I'm going to come of age and forget him and the farm for living in the magic world." He sent her a sad sort of smile. "He wants me and my brother to stay at home and be farmers, like him. Even before I knew I was a wizard, he'd always planned for it. Now he doesn't see it happening." Lily wanted to ask whether MacDougall would go back to wherever he was from to be a Muggle farmer after Hogwarts, but refrained. That was far too personal a question for their second non-date date.

"That's pretty cool, though," she said. "Being a Muggle-born," she clarified at his look of skepticism.

He smirked at that. "Aye, least not a soul knew my name when I started here." He grinned. "I heard yours and your dad's name four times on the train alone."

Lily groaned, moving to put her face in his shoulder. "Don't mention it, please," she sighed. That first week of school had been the worst. Feeling the pressure of being Harry Potter's Only Daughter, not to mention the fact  _everyone_  seemed to know her, had been atrocious. She'd wanted nothing more than to be a nobody back then.

"What's it like, having famous parents?" MacDougall rumbled after a moment, turning in to face her.

Lily snorted, pulling back, but her arms went around his neck again, pulling him close, because he was deliciously warm and his large hands on her hips felt very comfortable. "It's alright, I guess. I mean, I don't know what it's like not having famous parents, y'know?"

He nodded thoughtfully. "Aye, I suppose that makes sense."

"You're really warm," she murmured, snuggling closer, and felt a gush of heat unrelated to body temperature and everything to do with the feeling of distinct maleness pressed to her front.

MacDougall chuckled. "So I've been told." Lily frowned.

"You probably shouldn't talk about other people noticing you're warm like this," she said firmly. To her surprise, he chuckled.

"You're a walking contradiction, Potter," he murmured, and she lifted her mouth as his moved down. And even though she was ready for it, the soft, teasing brush of his tongue against the inside of her upper lip had her gasping and groaning again. It sent a pleasurable frisson of desire through her, that tempting tickle, and before she realized it, they were snogging hard. Her hands dragged through his hair, his slid up under her sweater to her ribcage, warming her thoroughly, and Lily held him against her with her legs, tongue stroking the roof of his mouth. MacDougall grunted and broke the kiss. "Fuck, ye might be a great kisser after all," he rasped, his brogue thickening deliciously, and had her mind going straight to wondering what it would sound like during sex. She laughed huskily.

"So I've been told," she said pointedly. His dark brows pulled down with his mouth a little.

"Is it true then?" he asked and pulled back more, hands sliding out from under her shirt, and Lily instantly missed his warmth.

"Is what true?" she asked.

"You and that Seventh Year Ravenclaw, Carmichael. You're hooking up or seeing each other again or whatever?"

Lily frowned. "Not exactly," she said, folding her arms and huddling because she felt suddenly freezing.

"And what does 'not exactly' mean?"

The redhead shrugged, but bit her lip uncomfortably. "I… He's Carmichael, I dunno. Do I hang out with him? Yes. Do we fool around sometimes? Sure. Am I dating him or fucking him? No." She felt suddenly nettled by the conversation. "Is that a problem?" she snapped.

"Nay," MacDougall said lightly. "But, to be frank, Potter, I won't play second fiddle and I won't be your dirty secret."

Lily almost laughed at that. "Which means?"

His massive shoulders shrugged, but she saw him smile a tiny bit. "So long as you're single, I'm interested. If you should become unavailable, I'm not interested, unless you should choose to be unavailable with me."

Lily did laugh that time. "Wow, a guy who isn't a total cave troll about women."

MacDougall grinned softly. "I told you, Potter, I don't think you're easy. And I'm not a fool, so please don't try to play me for one."

A dark red brow lifted in the moonlight that bathed her face silver. "Perhaps a bit of experience there?" she probed gently.

"Aye."

MacDougall moved one of his large, warm hands to her face and brushed a thumb over her lips, setting Lily's heart thudding quicker, mouth going dry. "I can handle that," she said in a gravelly voice, and jumped down from the wall. "But I can't handle cold. I have to go in, I'm freezing."

He snorted, but didn't comment, and they started back up toward the castle. "So can I ask you a question?" MacDougall finally asked after several long minutes of companionable silence.

"Sure," Lily said, smiling a bit.

"Did you really ditch Malfoy at the end of last term?"

The redhead's step faltered for a moment, but she recovered, saying blandly. "Yes."

MacDougall seemed to sense it was a sensitive issue, and she was grateful he didn't pry further, instead taking her hand. "So now you know the basics, do you want to learn to  _actually_  fly, like the fun kind of flying?" he asked after another long silence.

Lily gulped down her terror. "Um, probably not. But I would like to hang out with you again." And it was true. MacDougall was gentle, easy going, and decidedly sweet. Not to mention a pretty good kisser.

They got to the castle and he gave her another kiss that had her mind reeling and body responding with it's intensity. It was hot and almost possessive, and reminded her, ever so slightly, of Scorpius's kisses. And when he pulled back she groaned in muted disappointment. "You might be a great kisser too," she said before she could stop herself, and MacDougall chuckled as they headed into the Entrance Hall.

Lily's cheeks were pink from cold and a shiver of awkward embarrassment, because she really had no clue what was supposed to happen at the end of a non-date date, but she hugged him, soaking up his personal warmth for one glorious second, and kissed him on the cheek. "Let me know when you want to hang out, Potter," he said softly, and twisted a hank of her hair teasingly before pulling away and heading down to his common room and Lily headed up to hers. She found Cheryl and Hope in the common room and they half dragged her up to the dorm to dish.

"Where's Faith?" Lily asked, because it wasn't often one found only half of the Pellard twins, unless the other happened to have a-

"She's probably getting boned by Bonifacio," Cheryl said, sitting beside Lily in her bed. "Old news. Let's hear it, bitch. How's your beefcake?"

"Make that is," Hope muttered from the foot of Lily's bed. The redhead sighed.

"Fine," she murmured. "I flew a broomstick, I didn't die, it was equally terrifying and exciting, we made out for a bit, MacDougall is like a walking heater, the kissing was hot, and then we talked about Carmichael."

Cheryl's eyes bugged and Hope frowned. "What?" the dark haired witch gasped. "Why!?"

"He asked if Carmichael and I were hooking up."

"And what did you tell him?" Hope asked softly, and Lily rolled her eyes.

"I told him the truth. Carmichael and I are friends, obviously, and we fool around, but we're not dating and we don't sleep together."

"So you just took a shower with him last night, then?" Cheryl drawled skeptically. Lily blushed.

"There was a bit more than strictly showering, but we didn't hook up," she said firmly.

Cheryl and Hope exchanged looks. "Lily," Hope began, sympathetically.

"Apparently a bunch of people heard you. ...Again," Cheryl said bluntly. The redhead's mouth fell open.

"That fucking tosser!" she said, thinking of Carmichael first, for not Silencing the bathroom, unless he really was bollocks at Silencing Charms, and then Zipzer, who'd probably been behind telling everyone. ...Again. "Well that's bollocks," she sighed. That explained everyone knowing, then.

"And you're for reals not dating him?" Hope asked, sounding shocked.

"For reals," Lily confirmed. "I told you, maybe after our date, but I'm not looking to be a slut again this year." The redhead grabbed up her Arithmancy homework and went down to the common room to avoid being asked for the seven hundredth time if she and Carmichael were together.

Just as she settled into the assignment, Lily felt someone sit down on the arm of her favourite chair and her heart almost stopped beating as her lungs completely forgot how to function. Because she caught the unmistakable scent of Scorpius's cologne, and felt a warm masculine presence beside her, leaning across the back of her chair, and she gulped, hazel eyes flicking up through the haze of memories.

And there sat Aaron Worthington, looking smug and leaning in far too close. "Hello, Lily," he said with easy familiarity that felt foreign and fabricated.

"Sorry, do I know you?" she said blithely.

He smirked. "Not as well as you could," he replied and she barely refrained from rolling her eyes.

"No thank you," she said primly, and tried to ignore him. But he smelled like Scorpius, looked a little like him with light blond hair and a tall, athletic build, and she couldn't ignore the fact he distinctly reminded her of him.

She held her breath instinctively as Worthington leaned in closer and said in a low voice, "That's not what you said about rolling with Carmichael, though, is it?" Her eyes narrowed.

"What are you even talking about?" she scoffed.

Worthington smirked, pushing a hand through his hair, and kissed her on the cheek. Lily hated that it tingled a little. "You know what I'm talking about, Potter. It'd be a shame if everyone else did, too."

Lily rolled her eyes now. "Right. So have you finished rambling at me about nonsense yet? Just 'cause I have homework."

Worthington's brows lifted a fraction as though he'd simply thought she'd fall into bed with him the second he flashed a smile at her and was surprised at her resistance. "For now, Lily," he said, and she grit her teeth at his use of her given name again. She stiffened as he kissed her on the cheek again, and ignored the warmth of his palm on her hair. The redhead blew a breath out as he left and frowned massively. What the hell was that idiot playing at? Smelling like Scorpius, looking like Scorpius, acting like Scorpius. Did he honestly think she'd fall for him because he was almost a clone of the devastatingly handsome blond pureblood she'd fallen so hard for? Lily snorted. What a tool Worthington was.

XXX


	8. Chapter 8

**Wish Upon a Star**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational drug use, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Lily woke up on October first, glad it was Saturday and feeling distinctly hung over. They'd taken advantage of Matilda's newfound love interest and Lily, Cheryl and the Pellard twins had gotten drunk on their bottle of Lemon Ginger Gin after Cheryl had come back to the dorm after a successful date with the guy she wasn't naming. Lily had managed to pry out that it was the same guy who'd stood her up the first time around, and there'd been definite hooking up, but Cheryl refused to say more, even when Hope dished about Bartleby and the night she'd spent in the Slytherin boy's dorm room. By the time Matilda had come up to the dorm for the night, the bottle was all but empty, and she'd merely rolled her eyes at them, Vanished the evidence, and gone to shower.

The redheaded witch stretched in bed and smiled, remembering she had her date, her officially real  _date_ , with Carmichael that day. In Hogsmeade. It was going to be a good day. She sat up and a headache slammed into her frontal lobe, nausea spiking in her belly, and she groaned. Correction, it would be a great day, once she attended to her hangover.

Forty five minutes later, hangover combatted with a healthy dose of potion, showered, and dressed, she slid onto the Gryffindor bench in the Great Hall to grab coffee and a slice of toast, just in time for breakfast. Lily sighed, sipping coffee gratefully, and felt herself equalizing back to normal. Her eyes, out of habit, scanned the Ravenclaw table and she smirked at Carmichael, who was writing some sort of letter. Either that or doing homework, but she highly doubted that was the case.

He seemed to sense her looking because he glanced up through his bangs that fell into his dark eyes and smiled a little, the dimple almost popping. Then his gaze moved slightly to her right, a brow going up, and Lily turned to see what he'd been looking at. It turned out to be a who.

Aaron Worthington sat down next to her. "Go away, Worthington," she said before he could speak. He'd hit on her a couple more times, always hinting at knowing some big dirty secret of Lily's, and she'd feigned ignorance when he suggested, again, she did more than puff the occasional joint with Carmichael.

He grinned, blue eyes so very light they were almost silvery shining in the sunlight that poured in through the windows. "Aw, so you do know me. I'm flattered."

Lily rolled hazel eyes. "Go away," she repeated.

"That's not very nice. Here I came to tell you how utterly ravishing you look, and you tell me to go away."

The redhead sucked in a deep breath as her cheeks went pink at the compliment, hating that he smelled like Scorpius and hating even more that she liked it. "Well, now you've said your bit. Goodbye," she said rudely, drinking her coffee and turning away from him.

"Maybe you'll be feeling a little friendlier when you get back from Hogsmeade with Carmichael," Worthington drawled with a smug little smirk that made Lily want to curse him. "See you around, Lily."

The redhead finished her breakfast and Carmichael caught up to her as she was exiting the Great Hall. "Should I be worried, Potter?" he asked, lifting an eyebrow again. "That's two Quidditch Captains trying to get in your knickers now."

Lily snorted. "I'd rather let the Giant Squid in my knickers," she said. Carmichael laughed. "But you should still be worried. Haven't you heard, Mr. I Forgot the Silencing Charm, that I'm a giant slut again this year?"

Indeed, the news had traveled the castle like wildfire that Lily and Carmichael had showered together, and then again a week later when they'd been caught by Zipzer in the second floor broom closet, halfway to Lily christening the tiny space with better memories. And of course everyone assumed that they were obviously going to fool around all year again without actually dating. "Good thing Ravenclaw's Captain is a chick," he said.

Lily smirked. "She's probably got the edge on all of them, really," the redhead teased and laughed as both of his brows shot up and then kissed him lightly. "So when are you taking me to Hogsmeade?" Carmichael moved in and kissed her more thoroughly, suckling her lower lip and making her grunt.

"I have to stop by the Owlery, but I'm good whenever," he said at last.

"Who're you writing to?" she asked curiously as they headed up the stairs.

"My Gran," he said and Lily laughed, because he grinned.

"Okay, then don't tell me," she said and rolled her eyes.

"I'm not kidding," he said, but he smiled wider. "I write to my Gran every week."

"Such a sweet boy," she teased, pinching his cheek playfully. He posted off his mystery letter that Lily wasn't sure was actually destined for his Gran and they paused by Gryffindor Tower so she could grab a hoodie and her cloak. On a whim, she stuffed the Marauder's Map into her pocket and they headed out of the grounds toward the village with a trickle of other students.

Their first stop was Honeydukes', because Lily insisted. "So much to learn, Potter," Carmichael said against her ear. "You come to Honeydukes' when you're already high."

Lily giggled, turning to murmur back, "And then I go broke, tosser." She reached up over his shoulder, lifting onto her tippy toes and pressing her breasts into his neck, to get the two last boxes of caramel filled Chocolate Cauldrons. Carmichael flattened to the shelf, gripping her waist and she huffed out a startled breath, losing her balance and falling into him. "You jerk," she grumbled as he chuckled, and bit his lip ring.

"C'mon, if I have to keep you in Chocolate Cauldrons, you at least have to buy me a Sugar Quill," Carmichael teased, and Lily followed him as he gripped her hand and moved toward the other side of the shoppe.

"Get raspberry," she said. His hand roved over her ass and he pulled her closer as Melvin Mortimer, a decidedly plump boy in Lily's year, but Ravenclaw, edged by.

"Ew, raspberry is the worst flavour," he said. "I like apple." Lily rolled her eyes.

"Apple is boring," she murmured. Carmichael grinned. "Get mango."

"That's just unnatural," he replied.

"Then get pineapple," she said. "That's almost apple."

Carmichael chuckled and kissed her. "I'll get apple and pineapple, even if regular apple is still the best."

Once they'd made their purchases, they went for coffee at Madam Puddifoot's cafe. It was crowded, as per usual, although not packed like when the weather was really poor, and Lily and Carmichael squeezed around to a corner table. The redhead laughed when he pulled her down onto his lap, claiming, "Standard date procedure."

They ordered drinks and Lily kissed Carmichael leisurely as they waited for them to arrive. "Did you really write to your Gran?" she asked after a bit, and then their order arrived. She sipped hers gratefully while Carmichael steeped his Earl Grey bag in his mug.

"Just then? Not really. But I do write her every week," he said truthfully. Lily smiled.

"About what?"

He shrugged, staring at his tea. "Everything," he said softly, then grinned, dark eyes flicking back to her. "She gives great advice."

Lily found herself smiling a little goofily at that. It was probably the cutest, sweetest thing she'd ever heard. "Seriously," she murmured against his mouth, nibbling his lip ring, "stop being so fucking adorable. It's hurting my face."

"Done," he said simply, hand roving just under her hoodie and tee, over her hip, just above her jeans. "Your ass looks fantastic in these jeans," he rumbled. And Lily blushed, but turned into him from her sideways position on his lap and smirked.

"I know," she replied and kissed him lightly. "But thanks for noticing."

After they finished their hot beverages they made out for a bit, but Lily could feel people looking at them, so they departed to hit up the Shrieking Shack. This time, Carmichael reached for her hand, and she grinned.

"You're a pretty good date," she murmured after they'd smoked a blunt and Lily was fried beyond recognition. The wind howled through the moldering old house, dry leaves skittering down the hallway from the busted front door and Lily shivered, huddling into Carmichael.

"You're fucking baked, Potter."

"You bet." She giggled a little, then sobered, at least from the laughter. "Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did."

Lily laughed, shoving him lightly, and rolled squinty eyes. "But for real," she murmured. "Are we always just going to be Potter and Carmichael?"

He lifted a dark brow. "I imagine we will be," he said, smiling slowly. "Do you have any plans to change your name?" She rolled her eyes again.

"Come on," she sighed, and one of her hands smoothed up his chest and over his shoulder as he kissed her neck. "I'm asking a legit question."

"You're beating around the bush," Carmichael murmured back. "Ask the question you really want to ask."

The redhead grinned, arms looping around his neck. "Are we ever going to call each other by our first names?" she asked softly. "And are we for real dating now, or what?"

Carmichael grinned at that. "Am I going to get lucky?"

She giggled, poking his dimple, and then kissed him. "Maybe," she said. "But it's a slim maybe."

"I don't suppose you want to go rolling?" he murmured. Lily laughed.

"No thanks," she said lightly, then pulled back a bit and pushed his bangs up. "Still interested?"

He smiled, making Lily smile in return, and then Carmichael moved a hand to tangle in her hair, kissing her thoroughly. "Sure."

Hazel eyes threatened to roll right out of Lily's head. "Godric, could you sound any less excited?" she teased, but smirked, and nipped his lower lip. "So?"

"So what?" Carmichael drawled. "You asked me out, I said sure." A fingertip traced down over her scant cleavage, then just underneath the neck of her t-shirt. "You're still a dork and a giant, I'm still a pervert who's not getting any."

Lily laughed, head falling back, and he pulled her closer. "Are we dating?" she asked after a moment.

He shrugged. "You tell me, you're the label person. I'm more of a 'this will improve my odds of getting laid' person."

"You mean pervert," she corrected. "Tosser, you're avoiding my question. Fine, since you're a pussy," he snorted at that, "I say we're  _not_  dating. When you can man up and ask me to date you, after you admit you have a great big crush on me, I might say yes."

Carmichael laughed. "See? Label person." He kissed her gently. "Suit yourself, Potter."

"Tosser."

They went to the Three Broomsticks so Lily could thaw out a little, Carmichael chuckling at her, what he considered unnatural, aversion to cold. The redhead ordered her Butterbeer hot and drank it gratefully. She was already dreading the walk back because the wind had picked up even more. Once they finished their drinks and got outside, Lily smiled because Carmichael took her hand again. "Do you want to Apparate to the gates?" he asked, the wind whipping the words away almost before she heard them.

"Yes!" she gasped. He pulled her close, and Lily held on tight, remembering the first and last time she'd been in a Side-Along Apparition. She'd almost fainted afterward. This time, braced for it, she felt much less like dying after the horrendous squishing through space, unlike when she'd been ten, and blinked her eyes open to find them at the front gates. She was still cold, but then Carmichael was snogging her, lips hot, tongue insistent, and she groaned into his mouth, melting to him, and kissed back heartily.

His freezing fingers eased under her hoodie and tee, over the top of her jeans, and she broke the kiss, eyes flying wide open when they moved around and then inside, over her ass, and instinctively arched into him, gripping the tops of his arms. "Easy, Potter," he teased.

Lily smacked him, fairly hard, in the chest and he pulled his hands away. "You bloody fucking tosser, your hands are  _cold_!"

Carmichael grinned. "But your ass is hot." He kissed her and she bit his lip.

"Godric, that was probably the most prick-like thing you've done this year," she teased as they hustled up to the castle.

"See? I'm losing my touch already."

The redhead rolled her eyes again. "Oh yeah, you've definitely gone soft."

They parted ways with one last snog at the top of the stairs, and Lily felt stoned and starved when she finally got back to her dormitory. Cheryl was there, along with Faith. "Where's Hope?" Lily asked, although she had a pretty good idea.

"Hogsmeade," the blonde witch said and rolled blue eyes. "With her new  _boyfriend_."

"Speaking of Hogsmeade," Cheryl said, glancing up from the letter she was writing, smirking, "guess who asked me today, at lunch, if you were in the village?"

Lily shrugged, smiling vaguely, and unpacked her Honeydukes' bag. "Dunno. Who?"

Cheryl didn't reply until Lily looked up. "MacDougall."

The redhead's cheeks went pink. "Oh," she said. "And?"

The darker haired witch sat back in bed and shrugged. "I told him you went with Carmichael." Lily nodded, feeling a tiny bit guilty, although she knew she had no reason to, and focused on sorting her haul nonchalantly, stocking her night stand. "He told me to tell you to meet him by the Quidditch pitch at six. If you were back by then."

Lily instantly glanced at her watch. It wasn't quite yet four. "Oh," she said again, but much brighter that time. "Cool."

"So what happened with Carmichael, then?" Faith finally demanded, as though she couldn't hold it in a second longer. Lily laughed a little.

"We went on a date. He was being shifty when I asked him to clarify our relationship status." Cheryl's mouth opened. "And for the record, no, we're not dating, at least not until he can ask me properly." Cheryl made a face. "Seriously, I'm not desperate. If Carmichael just wants to be friends with benefits again, still, whatever, it's fine by me." Only Lily didn't mean it quite as much as she had last year. Faith and Cheryl exchanged glances when Lily looked away, going back to her sweets, both of them clearly not buying it.

Later, just before six, Lily headed down to the Quidditch pitch, bundled in her most massive Weasley Christmas sweater and cloak with her atrocious red and gold scarf bundled around her face. The wind hadn't let up at all and had only gotten colder as the sun sank in the sky. MacDougall practically frowned when he saw her. "Don't tell me you're cold, Potter," he said. Lily was amazed he wasn't frozen solid, wearing only a feeble hoodie against the cold.

"Okay then I'll tell you I'm frozen," she said, and sighed a little when she hugged him, because he was  _warm_.

"Probably because you're little," he teased, and Lily burst out laughing. She hadn't been called little since the end of Third Year, by her older brother James. That summer she'd grown four inches. "What? You are, Potter."

She laughed harder. "Wow, I am so not little, you're just ginormous," she gasped between giggles. MacDougall grinned, eyes softening in the half light.

"You are too little," he drawled.

Lily grinned. "Then I guess that makes most of the population little compared to you, MacDougall."

The redhead felt his very large, warm hands sliding up under her sweater but still over her tee. "Aye, maybe. But you're little because most of the population doesn't fit like this," he said softly, and closed his hands around the tiniest part of her waist. There were only a few inches between his thumbs on her front and even less between his fingers on her back. Lily blushed.

"Or," she murmured, "you're just really big."

He grinned wider. "You haven't seen 'really big' yet, doll," MacDougall murmured in a throaty, rough brogue, and Lily's palms smoothed up his chest before she realized what she was doing. Damn that accent!

His mouth brushed over hers and Lily surged up onto her toes, into the kiss, feeling blissfully warm, and let out a pleased grunt when his tongue smoothed over hers. They pulled back at the same moment and Lily grinned a little. "So is that the real reason you asked me out to a freezing Quidditch pitch?" she teased.

"Nay. Though a lad can hope for that." He smiled a little shiftily. "For some reason I can't stop thinking about you riding a broom. I feel like it's my personal duty to teach you, if only to show up your older brothers."

Lily laughed at that, because it was kind of sweet, even if she definitely didn't want to. But then she thought of the looks her brothers would have if they saw she  _could_  ride a broomstick. They'd be shocked! It was a favourite topic for teasing when the three Potter children were together, that Lily couldn't fly a broom, so she must've been switched with someone else's baby at St. Mungo's, because  _how could she not fly_?

"I guess, but I'm not going zooming through clouds and shit." MacDougall laughed, eyes going extra crinkly, and she smiled a little.

"Aye, that's fair, Potter." He pulled away from her embrace and she instantly missed his warmth, but he took her hand and lead her over the where his broom was reclining against the low barrier to the seating around the pitch. "And since you're so wee, and catch cold like a little lass, I'll go with you this time," he said. Lily rolled her eyes, but mounted the broom, with MacDougall's solid, reassuring warmth behind her, and actually enjoyed, for the most part, the slow lazy circle they flew around the pitch.

A half hour later, having landed after several laps that grew increasingly higher off the ground, Lily was sitting up, again, on the low wall around the edge of the pitch, snogging heavily with MacDougall. She groaned as one of his hands went to her hair, the other at her hip, and she plastered herself to him. His mouth dropped to place lazy, molten kisses down her neck and she stifled a moan when his lips brushed the top of her cleavage. She couldn't help but think about what his mouth would feel like on her nipples and shivered a tiny bit.

MacDougall pulled back and all of a sudden the stadium lights around the pitch went on and Lily looked around as the Gryffindor Quidditch Team strutted out onto the pitch, dressed for training. Lily narrowed her eyes at the Captain but then turned to MacDougall. "Thanks for the lesson," she said lightly, and kissed him on the cheek.

He glanced furtively at the Gryffindor Team, who waited expectantly for them to leave, and pulled away from her fully. Lily shivered from cold now. "Are you coming back up to the castle?" he asked softly.

"No, I want to check the pitch book," she murmured vaguely as Worthington made his way over, and she jumped down. "See you. Next weekend?"

MacDougall smiled, eyes crinkling a little. "Sure. See you, Potter." He picked up his broom and meandered off, through the exit opposite the Gryffindor Team and Lily went the other way, toward the little office. She didn't pause as she drew level with Worthington, ignoring his existence.

"Ooh, the brush off. Sorry to interrupt, Potter, but it is our training time."

"Whatever," she mumbled, and was relieved when he didn't follow her. She took a shifty at the pitch bookings, decided on a practice for the next day, and headed back up to the castle for a late dinner and to tell her team about the next practice.

Pep Practice came at seven thirty the next morning, and Lily pushed her team hard in the chilly morning. The redhead was glad the wind had died during the night, but it was damp and misty as she blew her whistle to keep the girls in time with their counts.

"No, no, no!" she shouted after a half hour. The girls were lagging and she glared at the Fifth Years, who seemed distracted. "What are you lot looking at?" she snapped, marching over. The best of them, Alice Marshall, pointed to the stands behind Lily and when the redhead turned she saw the Gryffindor Quidditch Team and their assorted friends, all of them looking amused, watching. "Oh bollocks," she whispered. "Five minute break, ladies. Get your shit together, we've only got a week until the Quidditch match!" she called out, and marched over to the stupid Gryffindor boys.

"Aw, don't tell me you're running away Potter," Worthington said from his perch on the little wall. Lily glared up at him.

"No, but you lot are going to," she said firmly, drawing her wand. "Sod off, we don't want you dolts watching and you're distracting half my Team."

"Relax, Lily, no one watches you girls at our games anyway," Hugo said, smirking.

Lily shot her cousin Hugo a dirty look as some of the guys laughed. "That's because you lot are so awful it's hard to look away from the trainwreck that you tossers call playing Quidditch. What place did Gryffindor get in last year's Quidditch standings?" The wizards who'd been on the team last year, including Worthington, frowned. "That's what I thought. We ladies have a Championship to defend, and the reputation of our House being the best. Bye, boys."

She turned to head back to her Team when an arm draped over her shoulder and she caught a whiff of tempting cologne that reminded her of only one person. "That was a low blow, Potter. Luckily, I don't take these things personally," Worthington said, smiling at her. She shrugged out from under his arm.

"I'm going to be blunt, because you don't seem to be able to take a hint," she said irritably. "I don't like you. I don't want to hook up with you, or talk to you, or get to know you better, or any other lame line you might have. I'm plain not interested. So please leave me alone."

"I think you'll want to talk to me when I tell you Carmichael sold you out last year." Lily rolled her eyes, planting her hands on her hips and huffing angrily.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" she snapped. "Godric, just fucking spit it out, or shut up."

Worthington grinned, making her want to smack him in the face. "I'm sure you recall that party you attended just before Easter break last year?" Worthington said quietly, blue eyes intent on her face. She scowled.

"Fuck you," she spat.

She made to whirl away, but he grasped her wrist. "We can arrange that, Potter. And what if I told you the only reason you wound up on your back with Zane is because Carmichael set you up?"

Lily felt her anger melt, something niggling in her memory. "What?" she said softly. Worthington smirked.

"Do I have your attention now?" he asked in a low voice, a brow lifting.

"What are you saying?" Lily demanded, feeling sick and like she was missing something. The memory niggled her consciousness more, a snippet of half-forgotten conversation.

"I'm saying Carmichael brought you to that party after you got high with him because Zane gave him a little bonus when he bought his pills." Worthington's smirk faded. "He traded you and whatever you'd give to Zane while high for a dozen ecstasy pills, Lily."

The memory surfaced properly. "... _you are definitely fucking worth it_." And then another along with it. " _Tell Carmichael if he doesn't mind, I might be interested in another little trade_." She glared, even as something like horror churned in her stomach and fired her temper. "You're lying," she said automatically, trying to convince herself he was lying too. That made him smile.

"If you say so," he replied. "But why on earth would I be lying, Lily?"

"How should I know?" she asked a little hysterically, eyes wide, breaths coming in shallow gasps. She felt her mouth going dry. "What do you want?" she demanded.

He leaned in and brushed his mouth over her cheek. "The question you should be asking," he added in a half whisper, "is why am I telling you the truth?" She could only stare at him blankly as he pulled away. "Let me know when you'd like an answer to that." She felt as though she'd been punched, or Stunned, as he swaggered back to the Quidditch jocks and crew and Lily gaped after him.

"Potter!" Kasey Michaels finally shouted, jarring her back to reality. "Are we getting back to this shit, or what?"

XXX


	9. Chapter 9

**Wish Upon a Star**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational drug use, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Lily bumped into Carmichael on purpose that evening when she took a stroll after dinner, having consulted the much exalted Marauder's Map. He was by the lake, puffing off a joint. He smirked when he saw her approaching and for a moment Lily forgot what Worthington had said about him, and the events preceding last year's Easter break. He was easy and familiar. He was  _Carmichael_. And when he kissed her, exhaling into her mouth, she inhaled and then puffed the smoke out as he pulled back.

"Hey," he murmured, and then his brows drew slightly together as she remembered why she'd gone for a walk with the specific goal of bumping into him. "Uh oh. You look pissed." Carmichael smiled as he said it, and the redhead couldn't help but glance at the adorable dimple that only made her more pissed.

Lily sucked in a breath. "I am," she said lightly, and accepted the joint when he offered it, taking a hard drag. "You'll never guess what I heard at Pep Practice this morning," she said with a forced, too loud to be convincing bravado of calm. She took another puff off the joint and handed it back. Carmichael lifted a brow.

"Then you should tell me so we don't waste time with my poor guesses."

She barely held back her sneer, and folded her arms. "I heard you set it up, that night we 'partied' before Easter break last year," she said crisply, staring Carmichael in the eye. He didn't react whatsoever.

"Set what up?" he finally drawled.

Lily glared, gritting her teeth, fists clenched. "That you set it up so that I'd be high and down to fuck with Zane and in exchange you scored a bunch of pills."

Carmichael's mouth hardened a little, and he toked silently as if deciding how to react. "Who told you that?" he asked at last. Lily narrowed her eyes.

"Does it fucking matter? Is it true?" she growled.

"It matters bunches to me. And not precisely."

Lily's mouth fell open in shock. "Wow," she said after a beat of stunned silence. "So what, precisely, is the truth, then, Carmichael?" she demanded.

Carmichael rolled his eyes and took another hit off his joint. "The truth, precisely, is you decided to get high with me, we partied, and you hooked up with someone." Lily frowned.

"Did you know Zane would be there?" Lily asked.

"Yes," Carmichael said lightly. "He was always at those sorts of things."

Her temper raged, because Carmichael still seemed perfectly at ease, as though it didn't faze him in the slightest that she was spitting mad. She felt her wand in her jeans pocket. "And did he give you a bunch of pills?"

Carmichael almost smiled. "He used to be my dealer. I bought them."

Lily couldn't tell if he was holding back or not. He was still just  _Carmichael_. It was almost infuriating now. "And did you get a special deal that time?" she finally asked.

Carmichael smiled the tiniest bit. "He had more inventory than expected, so I suppose yes."

Lily's mouth hardened and she barely stayed the urge to slap him across the face. "Wow," she said icily. "You're a piece of shit."

He grinned and she drew her wand, trying to reign in her temper. "Yeah?" he drawled. "Then I guess that makes you more than pretty dumb, Potter. How many people warned you last year I'm sketchy?" She gaped for a second, too mad to even respond, and Carmichael added softly, "And for the record, that transaction took place before you even agreed to come rolling with me." Lily shook her head, still stunned beyond words. "Who told you that rubbish anyway?" Carmichael asked again.

Lily pursed her mouth at him. "Why does it matter to you?" she shot back.

He offered the joint but Lily waved it away, making the dark haired Ravenclaw smirk. "Because if it was who I think it was, I'm going to be almost impressed."

The redhead frowned massively. "What does that even mean?" she snapped, pissed off and tired of Carmichael talking in circles, hedging around everything.

He grinned and shrugged, absently chewing on his lip ring, distracting her. "It means Worthington is  _really_  trying to get in your knickers." Lily's eyes narrowed.

"Then I guess you and him have lots in common," she snapped, and whirled away, stalking back up to the castle.

By the time she got back to the castle she was impossibly more furious, and stomped through the Entrance Hall, wanting nothing more than to curse someone, or something. She was hurt and baffled and now thoroughly confused. Because she had a feeling Carmichael was obviously guilty, but now she couldn't help questioning Worthington's motives for telling her. Did he think that she'd fall into bed with him, delusional with gratitude? Was he really that thick? Or was it just a conscience thing? Did he feel like maybe he  _should_  tell her, seeing as how Carmichael obviously wouldn't and the common gossip portrayed them as a couple? Was it possible Worthington felt bad she was blissfully ignorant and him wanting in her knickers was unrelated? She didn't know the answers to any of her questions.

She was so lost in thought she didn't pay attention to where she was going and as she passed through the portrait hole to the Gryffindor common room, she bumped directly into someone. "Oof!" she gasped.

"Christ, Lily," her cousin Hugo said, smirking, gripping the tops of her arms to right her before she fell. "Pay attention to where you're going."

"Sorry," she mumbled. Then something occurred to her. Of all the people at Hogwarts, who else was most entitled to have access to the Marauder's Map? After all, Hugo's mum and dad had both seen it and used it! "Hey, do you have a second?" she asked.

Hugo shrugged. "Sure. But literally only a second."

"Wait here," Lily breathed, then hustled up to her dorm, dug the Map out of her trunk and brought it back down to show Hugo. "C'mon," she mumbled. "Let's go out into the corridor."

They went out through the Fat Lady and headed down the corridor to an alcove. "Lily, you're acting like a spaz," Hugo said blandly. "And this is taking way longer than a second."

Lily narrowed hazel eyes at him. "It's worth it," she mumbled, and handed him the blank Map.

Hugo's dark auburn brows lifted. "Um, thanks?" he said. "But what the hell do I want with some manky, mangled old parchment?"

Lily smirked, rolling her eyes, and pulled out her wand, tapping the map as she murmured, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." As the Map slowly appeared and Hugo's brows shot up, she said smugly, "I'm sure you've heard of the Marauder's Map, right?"

"Are you for fucking serious?" Hugo whispered, dark eyes huge. Lily nodded, and they shared a moment of awe, looking at myriad little dots of the castle and its inhabitants going about their daily lives, not knowing they were being watched. "How did you get this?"

"Albus," she said simply, then took it back, clearing it with a soft, "Mischief managed." She tucked it into her pocket with her wand. "I figured you should get use of it too, considering your parents used it back at school too."

Hugo grinned. "Thanks, Lily."

The redhead smiled, and then bit her lip. "Just do me one favour?"

"Sure."

"Don't tell anyone about the Map, okay?" Hugo laughed.

"Obviously," he said, ruffling her hair like her brothers would. "I thought you were going to ask me to get Worthington off your back or something."

Lily scowled. "That too," she muttered.

Hugo laughed some more. "Just give him a chance, Lily, he's not a half bad guy under the douche bag exterior." Lily frowned but went back to the common room as Hugo headed down the corridor, off to do whatever it was he'd been going to do in the first place. Once she'd gone through the portrait hole, which the Fat Lady gave her a sharp look for, at being disturbed so frequently, Lily spotted Worthington easily, with various Quidditch fans and friends, and frowned some more. She barely knew the guy, and had no clue if she could trust him. But then again, she'd trusted Carmichael at face value, and look where that had gone.

She headed up to her dorm and shook her head, and glanced at the Remembrall on the night stand beside her bed, and sighed, thinking about Scorpius. It would be so much simpler if he wasn't Godric only knew where, doing Merlin only knew what, with Salazar only knew who. And even though she knew she should work on her Potions homework, she pulled out his letters, all of which she'd read and replied to, except for the last, longest one. She unfolded it, smiling at his bold hand, and set in to read. It started out like all the others.

_Dear Lily,  
How are things at Hogwarts? Who did they get to replace me and Al on the Slytherin Quidditch team? Who'd they make Captain? Why do you have to be there, when I'm here. This sucks. We're in Amsterdam right now. I'd tell you what it looks like but we've just arrived, it's dark and raining, and our hostel, I'm pretty sure, is technically a barn. But all in all, it's home for the next week. I'll write more in the morning. Your brother just threw a third dirty sock at me, so I'm assuming that means my writing and light are keeping him up. What a tosser._

The redhead smiled, because although she imagined it must be fun and thrilling, travelling the world, Scorpius always seemed, in his letters, to be just along for the ride. The next paragraph, she assumed, was written before they went off to do their thing, as it looked rushed.

_Breakfast in Holland is weird. I miss real coffee. I especially miss waking up with all your hair in my face. Turns out our hostel_ is  _a barn. I woke up to the sound of a rooster at four thirty this morning. Please, if you get this anytime soon, send coffee to me. Real coffee. Or some Pick Me Up potion. I'm not picky. More later, darling._

Lily smirked at that and made a mental note to detour by the kitchens with the help of the Marauder's Map to get Scorpius some coffee when she sent a reply. The next paragraph was messy, and somewhat illegible and Lily frowned.

_Hello, darling. We went drinking. The locals here like to make tourists get drunk. And it's very late here. Like… Shit. I may or may not have given some man my watch, because I can't find it. Your brother is currently vomiting. What a lightweight. We only had thirteen rounds. Or maybe it was fourteen. All I know is it all got really fuzzy after round ten, and Albus is still tossing his cookies. He sounds like he might be dying, poor bastard._  
Ah, I miss you more than I can explain, darling. Your mouth most of all. You have a great mouth, did you know? I bet you do know. I miss that fantastic mouth lots right now. Which sounds inappropriate now that I read it back, but I mean in the best way. (The worst way, too, just for the record). Your mouth is fantastic. At least I remember it being fantastic. Especially when you get mad and it gets all squished together. Or when you smile. I miss your smiles.  
The barmaid here, her mouth was almost as good as yours. Of course, hers probably looks awful when she's mad, but her smile was alright. Not yours, but alright, considering we're in Holland and everything is ass backwards. And she's definitely not as good a kisser as you.

The writing trailed off at this point, and Lily had to squint at the last sentence, trying to make sure she'd read it properly. Hurt and confusion lanced through her and she tossed the letter aside. Why would he write that? Why in the name of Merlin's crooked dick would he write, drunk or not, about making out with some slutty bartender whose mouth wasn't as good as hers!? And even if he did, why the hell would he send it!? There were two more pages still to read, and she wondered what he could possibly say after  _that_. She took a deep breath, reminding herself they weren't together, and he was at perfect liberty to kiss whoever he bloody well felt like, or more, but there was something unbearably hurtful at seeing it, scrawled in his messy, drunken hand.

She all but threw the rest of the letter into the drawer on her bedside table, and then picked up the stupid Remembrall and threw it in as well. She firmed up her lip when it wobbled, threatening tears, and Lily took a fortifying breath as she slammed the drawer shut. And, feeling furious and rebellious, pulled out the Marauder's Map. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good," she muttered. Her eyes scanned the parchment, on the lookout for one particular person.

Cheryl came into the dorm then and Lily pulled the Map closer on her lap, slouching over it, hoping it would look like she was doing homework. Cheryl, who seemed in a good mood, didn't comment, merely flopping into bed, sighing. Lily spotted the person she was looking for, stuffed the open Map in her pullover pocket and got up. "I'm going to go get laid," she said sternly to Cheryl, who grinned at her.

"Have fun," the dark-haired witch said.

Lily checked the Map again after she got down the stairs, passing through the door in the Entrance Hall she knew would lead to the Hufflepuff common room. Once she stood before the heavy wooden door that had no handle or knob, but that the Map told her was the right door, the redhead hesitated. And then she saw that stupid sentence, written in Scorpius's own hand, and knocked firmly on the door. After a moment some First or Second Year girl opened it. Her mouth fell open as she looked at Lily. "Holy Merlin,  _you're_  Lily Potter," the girl said. "You're  _famous_!"

Lily grit her teeth in a smile. "So I've heard," she said blandly. "Can you go get someone for me?"

The girl's light brown eyes widened. "Who?" she asked almost breathless.

"Evan MacDougall," Lily said firmly. "He plays Beater for your House's Quidditch Team. I need to talk to him for a second." She saw the girl's cheeks go pink, clearly thinking Lily wanted to see MacDougall for personal reasons and added hastily, "About Herbology homework."

The girl's face fell slightly. "Oh," she said. "One second," she mumbled, and disappeared. Lily blew out a nervous breath, wondering vaguely if she was making a mistake again. Suddenly the door opened again and she sucked in a deep breath, because MacDougall stood there, looking confused.

"Um, hi," she said awkwardly. "This isn't really about Herbology homework," she added, courage wavering as he stepped out into the corridor.

He smiled a little. "Well that's a relief, 'cause I was going to say, I didn't even know we  _had_  homework." Lily couldn't help but smile back a little. "So you're really here because?"

Lily pushed a nervous hand through her hair and looked down. "This is probably going to sound lame, but d'you want to like, um, hang out?"

MacDougall's grin widened and he leaned back against the sturdy stone wall. "Like, right now?" She shrugged.

"Um, I guess, yeah," she murmured. And then suddenly, Lily was attacked by nerves. What the hell was she doing? What if MacDougall wasn't looking for that kind of hanging out, the kind she'd initially set out for? And why did it matter so much to her that Scorpius was making out with random slutty barmaids? Hadn't she assumed since the start of term he would be, and then some? That much was true, but… It was different, thinking it versus knowing it.

"That depends what you had in mind, Potter," MacDougall said evenly, and she slanted a look up from under her lashes when he reached for her hand.

"Wanna take a walk?" she asked before she could talk herself out of it.

MacDougall tilted his head a little, but shrugged massive shoulders. "Alright," he said easily and Lily almost sagged with relief he didn't think she was completely stupid. She hadn't dressed to go outdoors, so Lily lead them through a tour of passageways she occasionally peeked covertly at the Marauder's Map to locate properly. "How do you know where we are?" he finally asked, amused as they emerged from a hidden staircase onto the Second Floor from the Sixth. "You don't have a map of the school in your pocket, do you?"

Lily blushed, mouth dropping open, and her step faltered. "What? Is that even possible?" she scoffed after a guilty beat.

"I might not be the sharpest quill on the Knarl, but I'm not a fool, Potter," MacDougall drawled. "I already figured out you didn't just come to ask me to wander around the castle with you."

Lily blushed darker. "Well I couldn't just come out and say, 'D'you wanna come fool around with me in the Second Floor broom closet?' now could I?" She purposely avoided answering the first questions he'd asked. MacDougall chuckled, dark eyes crinkling at the corners, and the next thing she knew, he'd tugged her around by the hand he still held and pulled her flush to his front. Lily's mouth parted in surprise.

"Why not?" he asked.

The redhead almost laughed. "How many girls have asked you that before?" she challenged.

"None," he admitted. "But there's some I wouldn't mind having ask me that. Including you, Potter." She bit her lip.

"Really," she breathed, and gasped as he smiled softly and kissed her gently.

"Aye," he rumbled, and then kissed her properly, and this time she beat him to the punch, tickling his upper lip with her tongue before he could tickle hers, and MacDougall groaned, pulling her impossibly closer against his warmth.

"D'you wanna take this to that closet?" she murmured after several long moments where they snogged in the middle of the corridor, and he chuckled.

"Honestly? Not in the slightest." Lily pulled back, offended and embarrassed in equal measure. "Pick another broom closet, Potter. I'm not your sloppies."

Her mouth fell open and she shoved him, but MacDougall merely hauled her closer and snogged her silly again. "No fair," she groaned after several long moments. "You're cheating," she added breathily as his warm hands covered her ass through her jeans.

"Nay, I don't cheat. I'm being persuasive."

"You find another closet then," she groaned.

Instead, after they managed to break apart long enough, they found an unused classroom on the ground floor and Lily tried to slow down as their mouths met again. She had a distinct feeling MacDougall wouldn't assume they'd go all the way right there, although Lily was definitely considering it when his fingertips traced the underwire on her bra. And then he pulled back. "Don't take this the wrong way," he began roughly, and Lily grimaced a little.

"That's usually the wrong way to start a sentence with a girl you've just been snogging," Lily said raggedly, sucking in a steadying breath.

His mouth quirked a little. "I've seen you go head to head with the Snargaluff. It's a precaution."

Lily grinned. "So out with it, then," she said playfully.

He looked at her for a moment, then said very softly, "I don't fool around without the intention of something serious coming from it, Potter." She blanched, hoping he wasn't thinking she wanted to get hitched or something stupid-crazy-ridiculous.

"Um," she said, and then MacDougall grinned a little.

"I'm not Carmichael."

Lily frowned. "Obviously," she said sharply, and barely resisted folding her arms. "You're a giant," she added. He grinned wider.

"Aye. But I meant-"

Lily huffed out a breath. "If you're trying to ask me out, you're doing an awful job, MacDougall," she said. "And if you want to make out some more, you're doing even worse for increasing the likelihood of that."

He grinned massively and kissed her lightly, leaning one forearm against the door, above her head, and supported his weight on it, leaning into her bubble. "Wanna go out with me?"

The redhead smirked. "Do I have to come watch you practice Quidditch if I say yes?"

"Just one token appearance. Will I be invited to watch your Pep Practice if you say yes?"

"Not in this lifetime," she said teasingly.

"Bollocks. I'm still interested, though."

Lily smiled, lifted onto her tiptoes, and looped her arms around his neck. "Good. Final term; you can't go bragging to Robertson or anyone else if I say yes," she murmured.

MacDougall chuckled softly. "Not the sharpest quill, but not the dullest, Potter. Of course not."

"Then yes," she said simply. They kissed for several long moments more, and then Lily murmured about curfew, not wanting another detention if she could avoid it.

By the time she got to her dorm, Lily was still in a state of shock and slight awe. She'd gone for an angry, righteous shag, and instead, somehow, wound up with a boyfriend. The redheaded witch sat on her bed, still dazed a little and sighed. Cheryl glanced at her and frowned. "No luck?" she asked softly.

Lily almost laughed. "Not for the main purpose," she murmured. Cheryl frowned more.

"What does that mean?" she whispered.

Hazel eyes glanced around at her other dorm mates. The Pellard twins were tag-teaming in a rapid-fire discussion about boys with Matilda, and Lily looked back at her friend. The dark haired witch leaned closer from her own bed. "You know MacDougall?" she whispered. Cheryl nodded, looking hopeful. "I guess we're sorta going out."

Cheryl gaped for a beat and Lily barely refrained from wincing. "And!?" she half squealed.

The other three girls in the dorm looked over and Lily frowned hugely at Cheryl, who looked hopefully back. "If you tell another soul, living or dead, I'll never speak to you again, and you'll have to switch dorms," she snarled.

Cheryl sighed. "No fun, Potter."

"Don't make me make you cry, Graves," Lily shot back darkly. She wasn't embarrassed, she just didn't want the whole entire population of Hogwarts knowing who she was dating and precisely what they got up to, four seconds after dating them.

"Bitches," Faith muttered as Hope sighed.

"I don't get it," Matilda admitted. The twins frowned in tandem.

"Lily's keeping secrets," Cheryl announced happily. "Juicy ones. And she's not gonna share with anyone else."

"Which makes her a bitch," Hope clarified as Faith said, "Total bitch."

Matilda frowned. "Are they about boys?" Matilda asked. Lily pouted, feeling ganged up on. Cheryl cackled and nodded. "Huh," Matilda said, frowning a bit more. "Sorry, Potter, that does make you a bitch," she finally decided and Lily closed her bed hangings, flipping the four of them off, but sleep did not come easy that night. She tossed and turned and woke up, after her lie in Monday morning, feeling distinctly unrested as she got to Transfiguration.

XXX


	10. Chapter 10

**Wish Upon a Star**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational drug use, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

By lunchtime Lily was feeling back to normal, for the most part, and headed off to Arithmancy with Matilda, who was proving to be a great friend by helping Lily, who barely understood half of what their teacher talked about in class. She was wishing, by the time she bid Matilda goodbye and headed down for Herbology, she'd taken Care of Magical Creatures instead of stupid Arithmancy. Because it might be cold, but it was  _way_  easier to baby sit a Niffler than figure out advanced magical equations.

Once in Herbology, they found out they'd be transplanting their Snargaluff seedlings into larger pots to mature into saplings. It seemed fairly straightforward, and absurdly easy, and Lily picked up her little tray of three seedlings gently, to bring them over to a work bench. But the little bastards, looking like twigs stuck into the earth, had grown their stupid little vines, and they shot out, wrapping around Lily's hands and fingers and pulling tight, like thread.

"Ow!" she hissed, putting the tray down with more force than necessary. The little vines loosened and she pulled away roughly. "Little fuckers," she murmured, frowning.

"Don't be mean to the poor little buggers," MacDougall said softly from beside her, and she blushed a little but smiled over at him. "They think you're the enemy."

"She is," said Robertson darkly from across the bench, and Lily fixed him with a glare.

"Nay," MacDougall said easily. "Professor Longbottom's the enemy, because he's the one who's going to terminate them at the end of the year."

Lily barely refrained from sticking her tongue out at Robertson and ignored him the rest of class, and didn't see the suspicious looks the other Hufflepuff sent her as she talked and laughed with MacDougall. After she'd wrangled her seedlings into pots (the first one had been especially tenacious and put up a good fight after it escaped, half covered in fertilizer), class was dismissed and Lily, with a smudge of dirt on her nose, exited with MacDougall.

"So I have to ask, Potter," he said once they'd gained the Entrance Hall, dawdling by the four glass bulbs that tallied House points. Lily dawdled with him. "Are we going to tell anyone?"

She didn't have to ask about what and blushed a little. "I suppose we could tell some people. Trustworthy people, who aren't going to tell the whole world." MacDougall frowned a little and Lily reached for his very large hand, frowning at the dirt under her fingernails. "I'm not opposed to telling the whole world, I'm just saying, it gets kind of old, everyone looking at your relationships, or lack thereof, under a Magnifying Charm."

MacDougall closed the space between them significantly. "Aye, I can see where you're coming from, Potter." She smiled up at him. "Does that mean I'm not allowed to kiss you right now? Because I'd really rather like to."

Lily felt her heart speed up a little bit. "Only if you stop calling me Potter and call me Lily instead," she murmured.

MacDougall grinned, eyes crinkling. "Does that mean you'll call me Evan?" His brogue roughened and Lily swallowed thickly. Damn, but that was a good accent!

"Sure," Lily said, smiling and feeling a tad giddy as he bent down and kissed her, the redhead lifting onto her toes and pressing into his warmth for a long moment. "So did you want me to come to your Quidditch practice tonight?" she asked softly.

"Aye, but you'll be frozen," he murmured. She grinned a little goofily at that, because that was really sweet. And true.

"I'll practice my Warming Charms," she murmured back, and made a noise of surprise when he kissed her again and her feet left the ground briefly. "And you can warm me up after," she added throatily, and he chuckled.

"It'll be my pleasure, doll," he rumbled back, and Lily practically floated up to her dorm to shower before dinner. By the time she sat at the Gryffindor table an hour later, word had spread like wildfire through the castle that Lily Potter's newest conquest was obviously the quiet, relatively un-gossiped-about Evan MacDougall. The redhead had assumed word would go round after the kisses in the Entrance Hall, and braced for the awkwardness she associated with being the center of gossip.

Instead, to her surprise, when Lily sat down, Kasey Michaels sat down across from her and asked if it was true her and MacDougall were together. "Um, yes," Lily admitted. Kasey's mouth dropped open for a beat, then snapped shut.

"Oh. Damn." Lily frowned. "It's just, I totally thought Robertson was spreading bull about you, so I may have kind of hexed him when he said you and MacDougall were dating or whatever." Lily burst out laughing. "So can I ask a personal question?" Kasey added, dropping her voice as Cheryl sat down beside Lily.

"Go for it," the redhead said, waving a hand. "This bitch already knows."

Kasey leaned in closer across the Gryffindor table. "Is he big  _everywhere_? Steph Marsden has had a crush on MacDougall for  _ages_  and she reckons it has to be proportionate."

Cheryl snorted as Lily blushed. "Wow, I am so not answering that," Lily said firmly. Mostly because she couldn't, but she was kind of hoping it would be proportionate too.

Kasey Michaels sighed, getting up. "I guess I should apologize to Robertson," she murmured.

"Nah," Lily said lightly. "He deserved it anyway. What'd you get him with?"

" _Tarantallegra_. Dancing jinx."

"Nice," Lily said with a grin. "And don't forget, Thursday at seven!"

Michaels waved a hand and departed. "Steph Marsden's going to be out for blood," Cheryl murmured, even as the other Gryffindor Sixth Year came into the Great Hall. Lily slunk down a bit in her seat.

"Doubly so," Lily sighed. "I had to cut her from Pep Team beginning of the year. She's going to try to duel me I bet."

Cheryl laughed. "Get Matilda to be your second. She'll give her detention."

Lily snorted. "I'd probably get one too if I got a spell past."

"For sure," Cheryl agreed. "So are you gonna help me with Transfiguration homework tonight?"

Lily grinned shiftily. "No. I'm going to watch Evan's practice." Cheryl's eyebrows shot up.

"Who?" she drawled. Lily rolled hazel eyes. "Oh, you mean your  _boyfriend_."

"Yes, him," Lily said smugly. And she knew exactly what she'd do to amuse herself while trying to avoid freezing to death watching Quidditch practice that evening. She'd write a nice long reply to Scorpius, pleasant as punch, and oh so casually mention her boyfriend. And when she posted her letter, she'd even send him some real coffee still. Although she'd make sure it was decaf.

That evening, wrapped in a double layer of Weasley Christmas sweaters, her cloak and scarf, she staked out a section of bench seating around the Quidditch pitch and settled in to watch a Quidditch practice and write her reply to Scorpius. She had the rest of his letter and read it by wand light in the growing dark.

_Okay, so I should probably explain that last bit. I'd like to start by saying I haven't made it a habit to snog random women wherever we've been. I have snogged a few, if you'd like the truth, but they didn't mean anything. At least nothing compared to you, Lily. And I never meant to tell you, but I don't want to lie to you. The barmaid was a distraction, that's all, and I was rather drunk. And if it makes you feel any better, Albus punched me in the mouth this morning after regaining consciousness. (That will make this the third punch, for the record.)_  
I don't expect you to be anything but upset, but I want you to know I didn't mean for any of it to happen, Lily. She was just there. And we didn't sleep together.  
Godric, I know, I'm an absolute ass, and I'm sorry. And I want to write that I'll never do it again, but I don't know if I can promise that.

The next bit was clearly from some time later.

_Lily, you'll never believe it. We're in America. I'm not sure how it happened, precisely. We got drunk with some Irish guys who were going to visit their cousins and somehow we booked a nonstop Portkey, on my father's dime, to New York. And Godric fucking Gryffindor, Lily, it's the most insane thing I've ever seen. I wish you were here to see it with me. There's..._

The redhead stopped reading. She didn't want to hear about another new, fabulously beautiful, exciting place he was visiting, because now, every time she read his letters, she'd wonder whether or not there was some faceless bimbo. And then she'd be unable to help thinking, possibly obsessing, whether or not Scorpius went all the way and slept with said bimbo. So Lily tucked the letter firmly away into her jeans pocket, after folding it up, and watched the last fifteen minutes of Quidditch training for the Hufflepuff team, indeed practising a Warming Charm on her hands and feet.

MacDougall exited the change rooms third out of the team, and Lily was pleased to see Robertson, who emerged directly after him, head up to the castle with a stony faced expression. She climbed down the few rows to the little wall. "Hi," the redhead said softly as her boyfriend approached. It was funny, but while she didn't get the burst of intense butterflies she seemed to get when she'd dated Scorpius and seen him coming toward her, she felt a definite wriggle of shy elation as he smiled at her.

"Hi," he said back, and when she put her arms around his neck, he lifted her right up and over, against himself. Lily couldn't hold in her giggle.

"How many sweaters are you wearing?" he teased, moving his hands under both, and her tank top. Lily gasped into his mouth, arching, because his hands were cooler than her skin.

"Ah! Cold!" she said. "And only two."

"Only?" MacDougall teased, laughing. His hands had equalized temperature with her flesh and Lily bit her lip on a groan when they moved from her hips to the top of her waist. Their mouths met, both hot and eager, and Lily didn't hold back the groan this time. Her own hands roved over his shoulders and up his neck to push through his soft curls. And when his thumbs brushed the naked underside of her breasts, Lily sucked in a sharp breath through her nose, nipples hardening. "Lily," he rasped, right against her ear, after breaking from her mouth, and the redhead almost melted.

"Uh huh," she replied, somewhat distracted by his teasing thumbs, very distracted by his mouth against her neck, just below and behind her ear.

"You're naked under your clothes." His rough brogue softened the words melodiously, but Lily still burst out laughing at them, burying her face in his warm neck, still pressed to him from thighs to chest.

"Aren't we all?" she asked. He chuckled a little.

"Aye, but you know what I mean," he murmured. "You're going to be a bad influence on me, aren't you?"

Lily pouted a tiny bit, because she wasn't all that bad, was she? Then she realized she might be, at least from someone else's eyes, and frowned. "Or," she murmured instead of answering, "you'll be a good influence on me."

MacDougall chuckled again, and Lily bit back a sigh as his hands moved down and out from her shirt. "Aye, maybe," he murmured, kissed her briefly once more and then they started slowly toward the castle. They parted ways in the Entrance Hall, after another lingering kiss that had Lily more than thinking about more, and she sighed a little as she climbed up the stairs toward Gryffindor Tower.

She was starting to think Evan MacDougall was a bit old fashioned about the whole sex thing. Which was quite possibly the exact opposite of Carmichael, now that she thought about it, because the Ravenclaw had been pretty upfront about fooling around, and how he was okay with it outside the context of relationships. The rub was, Lily couldn't decide whether she was pleased by that notion or not. Sure, Evan was a nice guy, through and through, and Carmichael had done something utterly despicable. But a tiny part of the redheaded witch kind of missed the casual intimacy she'd had with Carmichael. And, of course, the slutty part of her missed the sex, or the option of, anyway.

But she could wait for MacDougall, if he wanted to wait. She had nothing but time to kill until Christmas break when she might see-  _No_. "Gobbledygook," she said sternly to the Fat Lady, who simpered.

"Oh no, dear, the password has changed."

Lily scowled. "Well what is it?"

The Fat Lady merely smiled, and Lily wanted to call her a lot of mean names. She refrained, took a deep breath, and waited for someone else to come along, wondering how she was always the last person to know the Godric damned password. After a few minutes she was bored to tears and was debating looking for someone to ask the password of in the Library when the portrait hole  _finally_  opened.

Lily got up and wanted to cry when Stephanie Marsden slammed it behind herself, stopping short at the sight of Lily. "Potter," she said darkly. Lily set her mouth.

"Marsden," she said respectfully, and swallowed a large dose of pride. "Do you have the new password?"

The other Gryffindor girl, with her strawberry blonde curls and cornflower blue eyes, glared back. "Of course. Not all of us like to spend every night sleeping their way through the male population here, y'know."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Would you like to tell me what it is?" she asked patiently.

"No," Stephanie said primly. "Want to know why?"

Lily rolled her eyes again, checking her wand in her pocket. "I'm guessing you're going to tell me anyway," she mumbled. Marsden glared.

"Because you're a slut, and-"

"And you're jealous Evan wants to go out with me, aren't you?" Lily supplied. She smiled grimly at Stephanie's blushing and spluttering. "Well that's cute, but you're kind of shit outta luck on that one, and your anger is misplaced. And if you want to duel me, let's go, but I'll kick your ass."

Stephanie gaped for a beat, then snapped her mouth shut. "You're a bitch. You don't even care about other people's feelings, do you?"

The redhead shrugged. "I'd be more inclined to care if you gave me the password," she admitted, and then Marsden was drawing her wand and shouting and Lily barely had time to cast a Shield Charm before three spells bounced off it. "Holy shit," she said, eyes going wide, and put her Shield Charm up again as Stephanie cursed her with abandon. "Oh Godric, stop!" she shouted.

Marsden didn't hear or wasn't listening. She threw hex after jinx after curse at Lily, who did her best to dodge and block and evade, while defending herself. And then, as though time slowed, Lily noticed three things happen at once. The portrait hole opened and Matilda and Dave McEwan, holding hands and smiling, stepped out, her Shield Charm dropped, and her nonverbal  _Tarantallegra_  hit Marsden just as the other girl's  _Petrificus Totalus_  went wide.

And as Stephanie started doing a superspeed version of an Irish jig, Lily's mouth dropped open that she'd actually successfully used nonverbal magic, and Matilda said incredulously, "What is going on here!?"

Stephanie burst into tears, falling over as her legs danced madly, and Dave hastily performed the counter curse to stop her dancing. The other girl sobbed and Lily could only gape for a second. "She came at me," Lily said at last. "I… She was saying I was a slut, and I said she was jealous Evan wants to date me and not her, and she flipped out," Lily said breathlessly, feeling guilty when Matilda glared, trying to quiet Stephanie's sobs.

"I saw the whole thing," The Fat Lady added gleefully. "It was awful."

"Is that what happened?" Dave asked her. "What Lily said?"

"Mostly."

"She deserved it," Marsden sobbed, and glared up at Lily. "You're a slut, and a bitch, and you're going to break Evan's heart, because that's what you do!" Lily squished her mouth together, trying not to rise. "You did it last year, to Malfoy, didn't you!?" she added and Lily saw red, gripping her wand, telling herself she wouldn't rise. That would be foolish, and if she just kept a level head, she'd avoid another detention. "You've already done it this year to that Carmichael guy, too, so don't go acting all innocent, Potter."

Lily lost it at that. "You don't know a thing about me, bitch, but you'll learn not to mess with me." And without thought, she waved her wand and performed a perfect nonverbal Boil Hex on poor Stephanie Marsden. And, to nobody's surprise, Matilda gave Lily detention.

So the next night, Lily reported to the Library and the ancient Madam Pince for detention, feeling mutinous and furious. Because word had travelled about her and Stephanie Marsden dueling outside the portrait hole and Stephanie, it seemed, wasted no time vilifying the redhead to the entire school, and gotten off scot free to boot. And then Madam Pince informed her smugly she'd be copying out records of late returns, by hand.

After an hour, she was cursing Stephanie Marsden to the darkest depths of every kind of hell she could think of, and all the ones she couldn't, too. Her wrist was on fire, her back ached from hunching over, and her eyes were burning after trying to read dusty, faded parchment for too long. "Somebody kill me now," she breathed, pushing a hand through her hair, and was pretty sure she was hallucinating when Evan MacDougall turned around the corner to the moldy, cobwebby section Lily had been banished to in the Library for her detention.

"Hello, doll," he whispered, and she looked around in alarm, certain Madam Pince was about to swoop in and go ballistic. "I only have a second, but I heard about why you're sitting detention."

Her mouth pursed. "Because bitches are crazy," she grumbled. MacDougall grinned.

"Aye. So to stay off the crazy radar, here you go. Please use it wisely." Lily felt her brows go up as he slipped a little bottle into her hand, leaned down and kissed her parted mouth swiftly, then slunk away. The redhead blinked, wondering if she'd actually fallen asleep and it was all an elaborate dream. But she still had a little bottle in her palm, and could almost feel the lingering warmth of Evan's kiss.

And then she glanced down at the bottle in her palm and frowned. Invisible Ink, guaranteed to stay out of sight, no matter the light, and even under magical probing. What the hell could this possibly do for her? Except make her detention stretch into  _infinity_ , of course. What an asshole thing to give her!

She went back to her stupid detention just as Madam Pince's pointed nose peeked around the corner and she creaked away again. Lily sighed, arm slowly going numb from her hand, to her wrist, then to her elbow. And, at last, when night was thick outside the window, Madam Pince let her go.

Lily hustled up to her dorm to try and get some homework done before she passed out and gave the password Matilda had told her after the Prefect had given her detention, to the Fat Lady. "Correct," the plump woman said pleasantly. "And just a head's up, I'm going to change the password again, December first."

Lily grit her teeth into a smile. "Thanks," she mumbled as the portrait swung open and she climbed into the common room. "Stupid old portrait," she added under her breath. And only half a dozen steps into the common room, she caught the unmistakable smell of someone who was not Scorpius, but a scent imposter. "Go away," she sighed.

Aaron Worthington smiled. "So defensive, Potter. No, I have a favour to ask."

"The answer is no," Lily replied automatically, and fixed the tall blond wizard with a steely glare. "To any favour you might need."

His mouth quirked up into a smile. "Surprisingly,  _that's_ not the favour I had in mind."

The redhead paused on her way to the girls' dormitories. "Let's hear it then, before I tell you no again."

Worthington smirked a little. "When you and your little cheerleaders go out, we're going to need a distraction. Or maybe more than just one." Her eyebrow climbed impossibly higher.

"A distraction?" she repeated.

"Yes. Just act slutty or something, you should know the drill. Something to help us get a strong early lead. And then-"

"No," Lily cut across him firmly, and turned away, heading to the girls' dorms. What a tosser. Why in the name of Merlin's favourite kettle would she want to do anything other than make sure her girls didn't embarrass her or themselves? She went upstairs, glanced at her Transfiguration, and took a long hot shower instead, hating Stephanie fucking Marsden, even as she felt warm and sleepy and mostly relaxed climbing into bed a half hour later in the quiet dorm. And rather detesting Worthington as well. What an idiot he was for thinking she'd just act slutty to earn him a strong Quidditch lead!

That weekend was the first Quidditch game of the season for Gryffindor, who were set to play Slytherin. Lily barely ate before the game, wracked with anxiety about stupid Pep Team, wondering why in the hell she'd ever agreed to be the freaking Captain. No wonder Rose had shouted a lot. Lily felt like shouting. When the Team assembled, she gave them the best thing she had in way of a pep talk. "I know this is going to sound lame, but I really want you girls to give me your A-game right now. And if you don't, you're probably going to wish you hadn't made the Team. Ready?"

"Let's do this shit," Kasey Michaels said, nodding, and Lily and the others went out and onto the pitch properly.

To Lily's delight, the whole thing lasted only an hour and a half, and Slytherin won, by a landslide. Three hundred points to twenty. And after the game, there was Evan. "Aren't you cold?" he teased, moving his large hands over the cutouts on her stupid Pep Team uniform, and leaned back with her against the back of the little pitch office.

"Not anymore," she replied, moving closer, and lifted onto her toes, pulling him down to kiss him. "So what was better for you, watching us do our Pep thing or watching Gryffindor get stomped on?"

"Tough choice," he murmured. "On the one hand, attractive young women jumping around in skimpy uniforms, shaking it. On the other seven little boys who can't get more than two past, whining and pouting after Slytherin won."

Hazel eyes rolled. "I'll give you a hint. There's only one right answer."

"I hope it's the truth. Because I much preferred watching the Pep Captain. How do you do that backwards thing?"

Lily grinned. "You'd be surprised what I can do, Evan," she said, trying not to sound too slutty. To her delight he lifted her right off her feet, up against himself, and she moved her thighs around his hips instinctively, clutching his broad shoulders.

"I'll bet," he agreed, and dropped lazy kisses on her neck. "You're definitely a bad influence, Lily," he murmured after several heated minutes of snogging and light fondling. She smirked, gripped him tighter with her legs and arched up into him, drawing out a grunt that had his hands, which had just slid to her ass, grabbing the supple, firm flesh. She moaned into his mouth. "Cho dona, ach fìor mhath."

"I hope that means something good," she mumbled, feeling a little dizzy with desire at the rough timbre of her boyfriend's voice and that way too sexy sound of his thick accent making melodious sounds that definitely weren't English. "And I really hope there's no one else who's noticed it's kind of really hot when you talk like that."

MacDougall chuckled, eyes crinkling, and gently set her on her feet again. "Nay, just you, doll."

"Good," she murmured, and kissed him again. "So I was wondering," she said as they finally started back up toward the castle holding hands at long last, seemingly the very last of the stragglers. "What's with the Invisible Ink?"

MacDougall grinned crookedly, as though equally amused and exasperated. "For your Pep Practice, doll. So you can book the pitch, have a secure time, and no one will see it."

Lily's mouth parted, because that was a really thoughtful thing to do. "Thanks," she said throatily. He squeezed her hand gently.

"You're welcome." And in that moment, when Lily looked up, she realized it would be easy to fall for Evan MacDougall. He was thoughtful and sweet, and the gentlest of giants, and she could picture being with him seriously. He'd be steady as a boulder, safe, and maybe just the tiniest bit boring, but lovable all the same. Even if he went around the wizarding world without her, she couldn't see him making out with slutty barmaids. But, as always, there was one thing wrong with that picture. That one something she hadn't mentioned to MacDougall, either. She was still, even though she was mad at him, more than a little in love with Scorpius, and she doubted she'd ever not be.

XXX


	11. Chapter 11

**Wish Upon a Star**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational drug use, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

October blew itself out into a windy November that dropped temperatures faster than anyone expected, and by the second Hogsmeade weekend of the year halfway through the month, only the bravest souls had ventured out for it. Lily had used the Invisible Ink Evan had given her to book Pep Practices, and she was pleased to see the girls, especially the Fifth Years improving steadily after the first game of the season. And as she finished up booking the next week's practices in the little pitch office, wrapping herself back up in her cloak and scarf against the howling wind, Lily was feeling thoroughly content with life at Hogwarts.

The wind smacked her hard in the face when she went out into it and she hunkered down, trudging against the gale back to the castle to get warm and meet up with Evan in the Library to work on Herbology and snog. She was almost to the Entrance Hall when the wind, which sliced over her face viciously, brought a distinct hint of bubblegum and a blast of premium grade marijuana. She looked up seconds before she walked into Horace Carmichael, who smiled his killer, perfect smile at her, dimple popping teasingly and lip ring drawing her gaze. "Potter," he said pleasantly.

"Carmichael," she said darkly, and made to move around him, staggering with the wind.

"Still mad at me?" he drawled.

She glared. "Going to get high?" she shot back.

"Touche." His grin widened. "You should ask Worthington how he knew what sort of deals I was making with Zane if you want to be angry, Potter. I bet he's got a real good story for that one, too." With that Carmichael ambled past her, hands in pockets, head down against the wind, off to smoke his joint and get high off his face. Lily looked after him for a moment then shook her head, still thoroughly pissed at him indeed. And even though the notion did make her curious, she had no intentions of asking Worthington anything, unless it was to take a long walk off a short pier.

She at last got inside, into the warmth, and sighed in relief. When she got to the Library, after stopping by her dorm for her bag and a quick shower, she found Evan easily. And to her unmitigated horror, sitting at the same table as her boyfriend and sharing the same Potions textbook, were Robert Robertson, who seemed to dislike her more than ever lately, and Stephanie Marsden. Lily shot the tall, broad shouldered Hufflepuff a questioning look and Evan shrugged.

After she kissed him and got settled, she pulled a blank piece of parchment toward her and scribbled on a corner,  _What are they doing here_? She angled the parchment toward Evan and glanced at her textbook.

There was a scribble and the massive, dark haired Hufflepuff turned the parchment back.  _Apparently we're being treated to a free show._ Lily's brow furrowed and she glanced at Evan, then up when he cut his eyes across the table. And there, indeed were Roberston and Marsden sharing whispers and personal space and intimate kisses.

Lily's nose wrinkled.  _EWW. Why?_

He smirked as he replied.  _Who knows?_

"I need that book we had last time on Snargaluff plants. You don't think someone else took it out, do you?" she whispered to MacDougall, getting up. His eyes crinkled as he smiled.

"I hope not," he said seriously, and followed her back through the stacks until they were ensconced in silence. Lily pulled him down to kiss, half jumping up closer as he lifted her easily, leaning back with her, and while it was enjoyable and Lily felt herself warming with desire, she couldn't help but notice Evan was ever following her lead. And when Lily groaned and arched closer, she knew he would probably set her back down and they'd actually look for the book.

She wasn't disappointed in her assumption, even if her slutty side cried a little bit, and her libido was disappointed, thoroughly, again. She would've preferred to be wrong and have him turn her around, press her up against the bookshelf and really snog her and then maybe try to move past first base. "So seriously, what is that all about?" she whispered as they moved to the Herbology section.

"I haven't the foggiest, doll." He reached for her hand, lacing their fingers, and as always, Lily's hand felt tiny compared to his, but his warm, rough hand exuded comfortable contentedness. "But my gut is telling me it feels like something I don't want to think about."

Lily frowned. "Like what?"

"Like there's some sort of plot going on."

Lily almost laughed. "Like what kind of plot?" she asked, grinning. "Trying to break us up by grossing us out with random Library makeouts?"

Evan grinned back. "Nay, I was thinking trying to break us up by making things awkward."

"They're doing a good job, because that was extra awkward, but if they think you're just going to drop me for someone Robertson obviously likes better, they're going about it the wrong way."

Evan grinned wider and pulled her close, bending to kiss her suddenly, hot and deep and utterly perfect, ramping up Lily's desire in a dozen rapid heartbeats, and the redhead reacted on instinct, melting against his large, solid frame, feeling every hard plane of him, and slid up against him, groaning at the friction from chest to pelvis. "Aye," he grunted. "Rob and me might be mates, but I'm not looking for leftovers."

Lily opened her mouth to respond, but then he was kissing her again, tongue teasing into her mouth, and she felt her arousal skyrocket when he pressed her back against the shelves. But after far too short a time he pulled back, and she almost stomped her foot in irritation. One of these days she was going to implode if she didn't get  _something_  soon. Lily wasn't even particularly picky, either. And, unbidden, the memory of her shower with Carmichael so many weeks ago, that euphoric, high remembrance, flashed through her mind, making her nipples go hard. No! Damn it! She was still mad!

Except, if Lily was honest with herself, which she seemed to purposely avoid lately, she wasn't as mad anymore as she'd been before. Carmichael was a stoner, and he'd fucked her, figuratively if not literally like she'd assumed, last year, but he hadn't denied it, or lied precisely. And, if she was being honest, she kind of missed him and his wisdom. Not to mention the rebellious facet that more than missed getting high with him and the steamy makeouts that followed, which had seemed tame then and seemed unbearably arousing just to think about now.

And if she really was being honest, she figured she might as well add that she was more angry at herself, that she'd so been so naive and foolishly believed in the inherent goodness of people and blinded herself to the fact Carmichael was shady. He'd been honest when asked, for the most part, and Lily could appreciate that. She'd just taken it at face value he'd have the same morals as her. But if anything, she'd learned from that unfortunate experience, hadn't she?

When she finally got back to her own common room, after a heated kiss and very tame fondle from Evan that had Lily hot and bothered and thoroughly frustrated it never seemed to move past that, she stewed. She glared at Worthington, unable to shake what Carmichael had said to her earlier about how he'd known what sorts of deals Zane and Carmichael had been making. How  _had_  he known? Was Worthington a big stoner, too, and he'd overheard when purchasing his own pills? Maybe. Or had Worthington been eavesdropping? No, she couldn't picture it. Oh, but perhaps, she reckoned, he'd simply riddled it out! The redhead almost laughed out loud at that thought, because that was giving the dolt way too much credit, she was positive.

"Potter," Worthington said, grinning. "I've noticed," he said, moving to sit on the arm of her chair as one of her eyebrows lifted in disdain, "you can't seem to keep your eyes off of me."

"Then I guess you have the same problem," she said and pursed her mouth. Would he tell her the truth if she asked? He'd told her the truth about Carmichael, hadn't he? Then again, it was easier to rat out someone else over yourself. "But I do want to ask you a question," she murmured, shifting and putting her head in her hand as she regarded him, sitting on the arm of her chair.

"Ah, I knew you'd come round, Lily," he said softly, smiling. He leaned into her and she tried to resist the urge to lean away. "You want to know why I told you how Carmichael played you."

The redheaded witch smiled. "No," she purred. "What I want to know is how you knew anything at all about that deal in the first place?"

For one second Worthington merely stared, then he frowned. "Why would you want to know that?" he asked.

Her smile grew at his obvious discomfort and Lily tossed her hair and tapped her lips thoughtfully. "That sounds like you avoiding the question."

"You sound like you're asking a question for Carmichael." Worthington tapped her lips gently.

Lily grit her teeth. "Then let me clear things up. I think you knew about that deal because you were going to try and get your own deal with Carmichael. Weren't you?" she said. It was a wild accusation based solely on a hunch, and she was mostly bluffing, but Lily felt her stomach drop unpleasantly as Worthington scowled. And then it hit home, when he made no attempt to deny it, she'd probably hit her target. "Oh  _Godric_ ," she whispered.

"Lily," Worthington said tonelessly, eyes flashing, but she was already up out of her chair.

"You're pathetic," she snapped stomping toward her dorm. "Get a life, Worthington, and stay the hell out of mine!"

The next morning was Charms first thing, and Lily, feeling grumpy and nettled still about Carmichael and Worthington, and her lack of physical satisfaction with Evan all combining with a dreary, rainy day to make her miserable. It was even worse when she exited the class with extra homework practising a  _silent_  rendition of a Levitation Charm.

By the time Defence Against the Dark Arts came at the end of the school day, Lily was just looking forward to going to bed and starting fresh the next day. "Miss Potter," said Professor Merryweather, looking stern, and the redhead pressed her lips tightly together. "Was there a part about the instruction you misunderstood when I said we will only be practising casting our shield Charms, not  _testing_  them?"

Lily hadn't meant to, really. But she knew Cheryl would be able to easily block her, and the darker haired witch, who looked innocent as could be, had all but dared her. "It was an accident," she said. "I meant to say  _Protego_ , but I said  _Profuchsia_ instead." Which was technically a lie because she'd tried a  _Rictusempra_ , or Tickling Jinx, instead of a Flushed and Blushing Hex.

The professor lifted his brows. "Then you will join me and several other students for an hour of Study Hall at eight o'clock tonight so you can practise your spells  _non-verbally_  since that seems to be the part of the lesson you missed."

Lily felt her temper flare, because that seemed awfully unfair, considering Cheryl had started it, but Lily sighed an obligatory, "Yes, Professor."

And indeed, at eight that night, Lily was sitting in Study Hall, a spacious classroom on the First Floor, with her Potions homework and wand. Professor Merryweather was there and cast her a smug smile. "Ah, Miss Potter," he said, "good to see you."

Lily fought the urge to glare. "Professor," she said in an attempt at politeness, and slid into a seat at the far back, pointedly taking out her Potions homework. She spent the next hour working diligently at her homework, even though the other students around her stuck in Study Hall as punishment, were boisterous and unfocused for the most part. At nine, Professor Merryweather said she could leave, and Lily threw her books into her bag, almost running out of the room. As she hustled toward the Entrance Hall, she turned a corner and walked directly into someone. "Shit, sorry," she mumbled, and stepped back from Carmichael, who looked very stoned, eyes barely open.

"Apology accepted," he said, smirking, before she could rescind it, and Lily rolled her eyes. He grinned, dimple popping. "Rushing off to find your boy toy?" he drawled, leaning against the corridor.

"No," Lily snapped. She knew MacDougall would probably be in his common room by now, as it was close to curfew. "Not that it's any of your business." He chuckled, wrapping a hank of her long hair around a finger.

"So touchy, Potter. You need to get laid." She narrowed hazel eyes at him, because a craven part of her more than agreed. "Talk to Worthington yet?"

Lily felt her temper flare and Carmichael moved a little closer to her, grinning hugely. "There's nothing remotely funny about any of this," she growled.

"It's a little funny," he replied. She sent him a questioning glare and ignored his hand sliding with easy familiarity around her waist. "The poor bastard has been panting after you since last year and you just keep picking Quidditch trolls from other Houses over him." His voice dropped a little. "I almost feel bad, because he's gotta be getting awfully desperate by now."

"I do not pick Quidditch trolls!" Lily snapped. Scorpius wasn't a troll by any stretch of the imagination, and nor was MacDougall, even if he had the stature of one.

A dark eyebrow lifted, Carmichael's smile going crooked. "Well you obviously don't pick quiet, genius types," he murmured. She gasped as he pulled her closer, and shoved him back. He seemed amused by that. "You need a good lay, Potter, let me know. Unless your boy toy is the jealous type."

He brushed past her and Lily glared at his retreating back, then hurried up the stairs to her own common room before curfew, turning over what Carmichael had said in her mind. Had Worthington really wanted in her knickers so long? Why hadn't he tried to make a move last year? Then she realized, he obviously had, if he'd gone trying to find a hook up with her through Carmichael. Godric, what an absolute tool!

She finally got up to bed, and put the day behind her, but the next day, she woke with the same thoughts prodding her consciousness. Was Worthington really just a sad, desperate loser who'd do literally anything to get in her pants? Should she forgive Carmichael, considering how much she kind of missed him and now that she knew he hadn't precisely sold her out so much as tweaked the circumstances to benefit himself? And, most pressing, what the bleeding fuck did she have to do to get through to Evan's less-than-honourable side and find out first hand if he was proportionately ginormous? It struck the redhead as she climbed out of bed on a sigh and shuffled to the bathroom, that maybe she was sending out the wrong signals, or perhaps her signals, which she'd thought were pretty clear, weren't as obvious to Evan.

She got dressed and headed down to breakfast, making sure she looked extra presentable, carefully putting on mascara and a swipe of tinted, peach flavoured gloss. "Time to bring your A-game, Potter," she mumbled to herself, and as she descended the last flight of stairs, felt relief that the universe seemed to sense her determination, as she spotted Evan exiting the door that lead to his own common room and dorm. "Hey," she said as he smiled upon seeing her reach the bottom of the stairs.

"Good morning," he murmured, and kissed her briefly. She felt a thrill of delight as he came back in for a second taste, deepening the kiss into snogging territory, and her hands roved up over his shoulders as she pressed herself invitingly to him. He pulled back, breaking from her mouth and she resisted the urge to sigh, still against him.

"Morning," she said, at last sliding away, and his brows lifted a tiny bit. "I had the best sleep last night," she said, smiling a sultry grin.

"Oh?" he said, taking her hand as they moved slowly toward the Great Hall and breakfast.

"Mmhmm," she purred. "Slept like a...well, maybe not a baby. My cousin's baby apparently never sleeps," Lily said, having heard so from Victoire herself over the summer. Evan grinned. "Anyway, I slept great, and when I woke up I thought about you pretty much first thing," she said, which was, technically, true.

"Really?" he asked, smiling softly, and Lily wrapped her arms around his thick forearm.

"Mmhmm," she purred again, and leaned in closer, giving him, should he choose to look, a very nice angle at which to observe her cleavage, and she felt a flutter of desire when his dark eyes did indeed drop to observe it.

"You're being extra enticing today," he said, the vaguest hint of suspicion in his voice.

"I want you to sit with me at breakfast," Lily replied, smiling disarmingly, the same way she had when asking her parents to hang out with Carmichael over the summer. It wasn't strictly against the rules for a student to sit with a student from another House at their bench, but it wasn't precisely a common thing. Most young witches and wizards tended to stick to dating in their own House, to maximize time spent together, and only the ultra serious inter-House couples tended to do it.

Evan's brows lifted perceptibly now. "You want me to sit with you at breakfast?" he asked.

Lily steeled her courage and shrugged. "If you want to," she added. The redhead released his arm. "No worries if you don't, though," she said coolly. They had just passed into the Great Hall, and Lily was surprised when Evan tugged her back close, and around to face him with just enough possessive force to make her breathing hitch a little.

"I'm only surprised, doll," he said as she wound her arms around his neck again. "I would've thought you'd want to avoid the gossip." She merely smiled coyly up at him, then lifted onto her toes and kissed him teasingly.

"Let them talk," she said. "They're going to do it anyway."

Evan grinned, hands moving around her waist after releasing her hand, and he tilted his head a little as he looked at her. "Or you could come and have breakfast with me," he said.

Lily couldn't help but laugh a little, because that would mean she'd be the one feeling awkward, sitting at the wrong table. "I asked first," she replied easily.

Evan grinned wider, but nodded in a slightly resigned sort of way. "Aye, you've got a point there, doll." He glanced over at the Gryffindor table. "Let's have breakfast," he said softly, brown eyes soft and warm.

Lily prayed her friends wouldn't comment as she sat down next to Cheryl, and although the twins shared looks with raised brows, they thankfully remained silent. Cheryl looked pointedly at Evan, then at Lily. "Really?" she drawled. The redhead shot her a dark look, and then her cousin Hugo passed behind them and the dark haired witch, distracted, glanced over her shoulder at him and smiled briefly.

When Cheryl looked back at Lily, the redhead lifted her brows. "Really," she repeated, although it wasn't a question.

The dark haired witch blushed faintly, then grinned and looked round at Evan. "So, Hufflepuff," she said, and hazel eyes rolled, "is it true?"

Evan reached for Lily's hand under the table. "Is what true?" he asked in his lilting brogue.

Cheryl's dark eyes flashed and Lily felt her stomach drop, because she had a terrible feeling she knew what her friend was about to ask. "Don't go there, Graves," Lily growled.

Cheryl ignored her, smiling innocently at MacDougall, and pushed her dark hair off her shoulders. Lily noticed the twins listening intently, because it had become a favourite topic of speculation in their dorm lately, even though Lily refused to speculate. "Lily refuses to tell us, but we're all  _dying_  to know if it's true that big hands and feet means you're well endowed."

The redhead felt herself blushing, and shot Evan an apologetic grimace. He smirked, dark eyes glinting. "Aye, I've no doubts you lot are dying to know," he replied, seeming completely unruffled.

When nothing more was forthcoming, Lily let out the breath she'd unconsciously been holding to hear his answer. She might not speculate aloud, but she was damn curious to know herself. "So?" Cheryl pushed. "Is it true or not?"

Evan shrugged massive shoulders, seeming bored by the question, but Lily could tell he wasn't pleased at Cheryl's pushiness by the line of his mouth. "None of your business," she said firmly to Cheryl.

The dark haired witch seemed more determined than ever, brows pulling together. "That sounds like a no," she said. The twins both feigned disinterest in the conversation, but Lily knew they'd be listening.

"Cheryl," Lily said darkly.

"C'mon, Potter, you brought him to our table," Cheryl said.

Lily grit her teeth, because Evan slanted her a look that suggested they'd have been better off at his table, and she tried to keep a lid on her temper. "I didn't think my friends would be so rude," she shot back.

"Then you tell me if it's true," Cheryl said, brows lifting at Lily's uncharacteristic shyness and defensive attitude. The redhead blushed darker.

"It's none of your damn business!" she snarled. Cheryl made a 'yeah, okay, whatever' kind of face, and shrugged. "It's not," Lily said sternly.

"Never been 'not my business' before," she said softly.

Lily felt Evan stiffen ever so slightly beside her and felt her temper flare again, because she had no doubts any chance of progressing things with Evan in the immediate future that day would be nullified by Cheryl's interrogation. "Yeah, well, things change, Graves. Maybe if you went out and got some of your own action, you wouldn't be so bloody preoccupied with mine," she said viciously.

Cheryl merely grinned. "Sure thing, Potter." The rest of breakfast passed in a slightly awkward silence, but just as Lily and Evan got up to go to Herbology, Cheryl added in the same viciously sweet tone Lily had insulted her in, "When, or if rather, you find out, I promise I won't tell anyone, Potter."

Lily was tempted to tell her friend to go fuck herself, because she damn well knew Cheryl was well aware the reason Lily refused to answer the question. Instead she went off to Herbology, trying and failing to feel unaffected. Especially because Evan didn't really talk to her all the way to the greenhouses, and when they got to their work bench, Robertson was looking at the other Hufflepuff as though he'd somehow been personally wronged.

The redhead wondered how the day could've gone so horribly wrong in the course of one meal, and how her day, which had barely started, had gone from peach-flavoured snogging to awkward silence and uncomfortable tension. So she merely kept her head down, treating her Snargaluff saplings, which were maturing nicely, to a little soil aeration and fertilizer after some water. They still tried to throttle her when she accidentally brushed them, but she was better at fighting them off. Professor Longbottom then gave them a lesson on pruning a Snargaluff, and why you should never, ever, use magic on them for pruning.

Afterward, she packed up her bag, not having said a word all class, and was heading back up to the castle for break, to wash her hands, and get her forgotten Arithmancy essay from the common room. "Lily," Evan said softly as they strode back to the castle.

She fought to keep her voice even. "Evan," she replied playfully, as she always did when he said her name with any hint of seriousness. "What's up?"

"You're quiet," he murmured. "That means you're stewing or you're pissed."

She smiled fleetingly, because it was a bit of both. "Nope," she lied, and smiled again, trying to make her face feel natural.

"Doll, you look like you've never smiled before, and this is your practice one," he said, and she smiled for real briefly, before she gave up even trying. "So what's in that lovely head of yours?"

Lily chewed her lower lip, and felt a rush of warmth when Evan reached for her hand. "It's just…" She couldn't find the words to explain without sounding awful. "I dunno. I'm just kind of...messed up right now inside." She licked her lips because he didn't say anything, and looked over at his thoughtful expression. "It's not you. I mean, you're pretty much awesome." She wanted to make sense of it, and her mouth was moving without thought. "I mean, as far as boyfriends go, you're the best," she said truthfully, because he was. Laid back, considerate, sweet, funny, adorable, and attentive, but Lily couldn't help but also want the one last thing on her checklist. Great sex. And she couldn't help but think there might be something wrong with her that she couldn't wait for the natural progression of things.

"So what is it?" he asked. She couldn't say it aloud.

"Nothing. Just something I have to figure out for myself, but I'll get there," she said as brightly as she could. Evan frowned a tiny bit as they neared the entrance.

"Are you sure?" he asked softly, just as they got into the Entrance Hall.

"Positive," she said. "I've got this." And Lily vowed to herself she would figure it out, or just simply force herself to wait until Evan was ready.

"If you say so, doll," he said, brow smoothing and Lily barely suppressed a sigh of relief. She couldn't fault him. He was sweet, and probably a virgin, and Lily didn't want to rush him.

When Lily got back to her dorm that night, just after seven and the Pep Practice from Hell in a freezing downpour, she wanted only to shower and sleep. Instead, she was waylaid by a mean and smug looking Cheryl. "What?" Lily sighed as her friend put fists on her hips.

The dark haired witch blinked. "I found out for myself, Potter," she said, a tad scathingly. "Turns out it's not as proportionate as you'd think but... What did she say? Oh yeah, 'It's still a damn sight better than average'."

The redhead rolled her eyes. "Sure," she said wearily. "And who did you hear that from?"

Cheryl grinned. "Mindy Irwin. You know that strawberry blond Hufflepuff with the rack that apparently everyone's seen? That's his ex." Lily felt her mouth part, but nothing came out. She was quite literally speechless with shock, because he'd mentioned his ex, and how she'd messed around on him. He didn't mention during that brief conversation that they'd slept together. Suddenly, although she didn't want to think it, Lily couldn't help but wonder, if he could do it with someone else, why in the Hell couldn't he fucking do it with her!? "And if you don't believe that, you can ask her yourself."

Lily could only shake her head, still beyond words, but after a minute, murmured, "For real?"

Cheryl sighed, and Lily didn't resist as the other young witch hugged her. "I'm sorry, Lily," she whispered. Because although Lily knew Cheryl had no idea what to feel sorry for, Lily just needed her friend to share in a moment of personal pity, and her friend seemed to sense it. She felt like she'd somehow been mislead, although she hadn't outright asked either, and suddenly anger became her friend.

How dare he hold out on her, never giving her more than a kiss and a feel, when he'd fucked his slutty ex? And how long was he bloody planning to wait? They'd been seeing each other for awhile, it wasn't like she didn't know him pretty fucking well! The redhead, freezing cold and numb with shock, pulled away from Cheryl. "I need to take a shower," she said stiffly, and stomped to the bathroom, the hot water firing her up even more.

After she was clean and warm and dressed, she pulled out the Marauder's Map, ignoring Cheryl, who looked on curiously. She searched for Carmichael, but he was nowhere around Ravenclaw Tower. She searched the grounds, but there was nothing. Then she looked at the Astronomy Tower, and found him there, labeled and stationary. Her conscience squirmed uncomfortably, but her anger stomped it quiet.

If Evan could hold out on her, she could find someone else willing to oblige. After donning her cloak and a dry sweater, she hustled up to the Astronomy Tower checking the Map at odd intervals when she felt like it would be safe to pull a corner of it from her pocket. She came upon Carmichael, tucked in a corner out of the wind, smoking his joint.

"Really, the Astronomy Tower?" she said over the wind.

"Son of Salazar's shorts, what the fuck are you creeping up on me for, Potter?" Carmichael said in stoned surprise.

"Because you like it," she shot back, and sat down beside him, not far from freezing cold again. "I was wondering," she began, but couldn't bring herself to finish the question. Or thought. Because although she kind of really wanted, she realized she'd never been precisely sober whenever she'd slept with Carmichael. Which wasn't exactly making it easy to suggest they go find somewhere to fuck.

"You were wondering?" he repeated, and chuckled, handing her the joint. She took a drag, then passed it back, feeling almost instantly fried as she exhaled. "Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, this is premium premium shit."

"I can tell," she said, and giggled. "Um, I was wondering, just…" She looked up into his squinty dark eyes briefly, then back at her jeans. "If I stop being mad at you, will we be friends again?" she finally murmured.

Carmichael shrugged. "Will we?" he asked. "You're the one who's mad, Potter. You want to be friends, I suppose I could do that. You want to be more than friends, I'm okay with that, too." He smiled, and Lily was seized with the urge to poke his dimple, but felt unsure if he was messing with her or not.

"Really?" she asked softly.

"Really." He grinned, bumping her lightly with his shoulder. "Just for the record, I'm hoping for the more than friends option, personally."

Lily frowned a tiny bit. "Aren't you always?" she asked a tad scathingly.

"Sure," Carmichael said easily, grinning. "But especially now that you're the forbidden fruit." Lily couldn't help it, because she was kind of really stoned, and burst out laughing. "Shh!" he hissed. She tried, but it was impossible. "Bloody hell, Potter, you're going to get me caught."

"Sorry," she giggled, then covered her mouth.

"I think I may have missed you, Potter. You're a dork, but you're awful fucking cute, y'know," Carmichael murmured with a soft smile.

Lily rolled her eyes, but smiled back, bumping Carmichael's shoulder with her own. "You're definitely still a bloody tosser, but you can be awful fucking charming if you want," she replied. He grinned, and her eyes went to the lip ring, and then he held out the joint again. Lily took it and had another drag, feeling stoned beyond measure.

"The being a tosser is what makes the charm seem better," he murmured, as if letting her in on a secret and she laughed again.

XXX


	12. Chapter 12

**Wish Upon a Star**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational drug use, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

A few days later, Lily was walking to lunch from Arithmancy with Matilda, who was trying to help her understand the new theory they'd been learning about that Lily hadn't really understood from the outset. Something about the transference of magical energy from one being to another, thus imbibing them with the original person's magical properties. All Lily knew for sure is Matilda was using a lot of big words that she just nodded vacantly at. "Are you even listening, Potter?" Matilda finally asked and Lily smiled sheepishly.

"You lost me after 'symbiosis' honestly," Lily admitted. The brunette rolled her dark eyes, sighing, but before she could lecture Lily about listening, the redhead saw Evan in the Entrance Hall, coming back from Care of Magical Creatures. Unfortunately Robert Robertson was with him, but Lily beamed and waved. Matilda followed Lily as she hustled down the stairs and hugged her boyfriend.

"Hey," he said with an easy smile, bending to kiss her, and Lily flung her arms around his neck. She had a spare period after lunch, and knew already Evan did too, and wanted to make the most of it.

"Hi," she breathed, and slid down him. Robertson's lip curled a tiny bit even as Matilda looked awkward at the blatantly public display of affection. Lily didn't notice as she grinned up at Evan, then said, "I have to ask you something."

All morning, Lily had been second guessing her assertion from the night before that if Evan didn't want to hook up, she'd find the next willing and available male, which Lily was fairly certain happened to be Carmichael. She wanted to give him every opportunity to be up front, and preferably hands on, with her, even though she was kind of hurt he played it off like he was inexperienced and didn't seem to see that she was practically  _dying_  for more. The redheaded witch had decided though, that she could handle the hurt, and if he had a good reason for  _not_  wanting to hook up, she wanted to damn well hear it. Before she did something stupid, without thinking.

"Go for it, doll," Evan said and smiled a little. She took his hand, pulling him a little closer.

"It's a secret," The redhead said conspiratorially, and grinned, even as his brows lifted.

"A secret?" he asked, looking amused.

"Yes, a secret," she replied. Matilda rolled her eyes and moved away, Robertson following suit at the silent hint. "Do you want to know what it is?" Lily asked with a coy head tilt.

"Lay it on me, doll," Evan replied, and Lily wet her lips nervously, but pushed through the feeling of inherent awkwardness.

She curled around his arm, looking up at him, and said very softly, "We both have free period after lunch."

"Aye," MacDougall said lightly. "That's not precisely a secret, Lily," he said with amusement.

She giggled. "True enough." She swallowed, summoned her supposed Gryffindor courage, and glanced up at him through her lashes. "The secret is what's going to happen during our free period," she said, brows lifting significantly.

"And what's that?" he asked lightly as they at last went into the Great Hall.

Lily frowned ever so slightly as they headed toward the Hufflepuff bench, wondering if he was being purposely ignorant. And she didn't know if she could just come out and say 'we're going to have sex'. So instead the redhead replied casually, "You'll see." They ate lunch, Lily trying to drop hints that weren't so blatant that the whole world would know what she was looking to do during free period, but with little success, and then afterward, Lily said, "So we've been seeing each other for awhile now, right?" she murmured as they exited the Great Hall.

"Aye," he said, glancing sidelong and down at her.

"And I have to wonder," she began, but looking up into his dark eyes she chickened out. So instead of asking the question she'd been wondering for awhile, she said, "Are you ever going to invite me to your common room? I want to see the chairs."

The tall, broad-shouldered wizard chuckled. "In that case," he said softly, "let's go."

The Hufflepuff common room was all but deserted, with only a couple Seventh Years, working quietly in one corner. Lily, although she felt a little obvious in her Gryffindor attire, looked around the room with interest. And, indeed, as MacDougall had said, the chairs in the Hufflepuff common room were overstuffed, rather comfortable looking arm chairs, in varying shades of gold. And while a couple of those ones nearest the fireplace looked a bit worn out, they were still much better than Gryffindor's chairs. "Where do you normally sit?" she asked, and they moved over to a little grouping, not far from the fire, and MacDougall sat down in a gold and cream striped chair.

"Right here," he said, and Lily smiled, sliding easily onto his lap. His dark brows lifted a tiny bit, but Lily snuggled up into his warmth.

"Your chair is way nicer than my favourite chair," she said, smirking a little. MacDougall chuckled.

"At the risk of repeating myself, why not just make it better?" Lily frowned thoughtfully.

"What does that mean?" she murmured. "I mean, my favourite chair is pretty great, it's just…" She tried to think of an adjective that didn't sound awful. "Vintage, a little, I suppose."

MacDougall lifted a brow. "Vintage?" he repeated, smiling.

"Yeah," she said with a little smile of her own. "It's been around the block a few times, but it's pretty awesome still." She leaned her head on his broad shoulder, one hand absently toying with his topmost button.

"Is that why you like it? Because it's seen its fair share of action?" MacDougall asked.

"Sort of," Lily replied, unsure if they were still talking about the chair. "It's good to know I'm not the only one who's felt the way I do about it. If you know what I mean."

MacDougall chuckled softly. "I think so," he said in his soft brogue and the redhead couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. She traced the little plastic disc of his button, sucked in a deep breath and summoned her Gryffindor courage, then undid the button and looked up at Evan through her lashes. "Lily," he said softly.

"Mmm?" she hummed, shifting on his lap, teasing the next button.

"What are you doing?" he murmured.

"I'd have thought it was obvious," the redhead replied coyly, and smiled a little. "What are  _you_  doing?" She eased the second button undone. "Or what would you  _like_  to be doing?" she amended in a whisper, and lifted her brows questioningly.

He merely stared at her for a beat, and right when Lily was about to look away, and mumble that she was only messing around, MacDougall said softly, "Plenty, Lily. Just not in the middle of my common room."

"Should we go somewhere more private, then?" the redhead murmured.

He smiled a little. "You're being a bad influence right now," he said, but Lily didn't much care because he leaned in toward her and kissed her, and while he wasn't determined and playful, like Carmichael, or passionate and sanity-melting, like she recalled Scorpius being, his kiss was warm and tender, and she groaned into his mouth as his tongue teased her upper lip. She turned to face him properly, and shifted to straddle MacDougall's lap as the kiss deepened and his large, warm hands slid under her cardigan and uniform shirt and then around her waist.

She let her own hands rove inside the collar of his shirt, a stab of excitement making her pulse kick up at the feeling of his flesh beneath her fingertips, and Lily almost cried when he broke away, breathing heavily. "Don't stop," she breathed, and moved forward to kiss him again, but MacDougall, apparently, at long last, had gotten the message she'd been trying to send for weeks.

"We're still in the common room, doll," he rumbled, and bent his head to kiss her neck. "So if you're actually trying to get me out of my shirt, you've picked the wrong place."

Lily felt almost dizzy with desire and practically leaped up. "Dorm room?" she asked as Evan stood up as well, only this time his hands went up under her skirt as he pulled her closer.

"This way," he said against her mouth, and took her hand, leading her back to a door and through it, then down a long corridor, and finally stopped at the last door on the left.

She didn't hesitate to jump into his embrace, backing them against the door, and her mouth fastened over his again as they snogged heavily, and the redhead wondered why the bloody hell she'd waited so long to make the first move. Or why she'd assumed she wouldn't have to. And she would've laughed at herself, had she not been thoroughly distracted, for getting her knickers in such a twist the other day, thinking Evan wanted no part of whatever was underneath her clothes. Godric she was a twit at times!

He grasped her ass firmly in both hands and they finally managed to get into his dorm room properly. And while it definitely wasn't the first boy's dorm she'd been in, it was definitely the only Hufflepuff dorm she'd been in. But Lily was too preoccupied unbuttoning Evan's shirt to look around properly as he brought her to one of the four poster beds and laid her out atop the gold and black trimmed coverlet. Lily tried to control herself, because things were happening much faster than she'd anticipated, and she knew she'd never last if he took her right then and there.

"Ifrinn fuilteach," he groaned roughly against her mouth, and Lily bit her lip, even as a tiny moan escaped her, and her hands finished undoing the buttons on his shirt. The redheaded witch didn't even think to resist as he kissed down her neck, undoing the first three buttons on her own shirt, and she panted unevenly, tangling hands in his dark curls.

"That's really hot," she groaned, and then her hazel eyes went wide as he pulled back and discarded his shirt and pulled his tie off. Because even in the shirt, he was huge. But out of it, he looked impossibly larger, all thick, corded muscles on his arms and meaty shoulders and chest, and she bit her lip, because he was hairier than she'd thought, but it wasn't at all a bad thing. Evan kissed her again and Lily spread her legs eagerly, feeling utterly horny and all but aching for him.

"Lily," he said in his rough brogue and she moaned, because her name sounded  _amazing_  when he said it like that, against her ear.

"Yes," she murmured softly, touching him everywhere and wanting this more than she was sure she'd ever wanted anything, except the one wizard she refused to think about. Her heart was thudding, fast and excited, if not completely out of control, and she looked up into his very dark chocolate eyes properly, and Lily felt all but ready to burst from her skin she was so turned on and beyond ready for fulfillment.

"Tha mi gad iarraidh," he rumbled, and Lily whimpered, trying to arch up into him, even as his mouth moved down between her breasts, still woefully trapped in her brassiere. "Fuck, tha seo do-dhèanta."

"Bloody hell," she groaned, because whatever the hell Evan was saying was having all the right effects on her. "Don't stop," she moaned, feeling his hand hesitate on her fourth shirt button. She barely refrained from ripping the damn thing off by herself.

"Lily," he said again, this time his voice muffled by her cleavage, and she writhed pleasurably as he licked just under the cup of her bra.

"Evan," she groaned, and her nails dug into his shoulders, because she was certainly going to implode if he didn't finish her off soon. She was almost past the point of even caring if they went all the way. She just  _needed_  to bloody get there with him.

"You're making this really hard," he rumbled, and she grinned, even as he moved his lovely warm mouth away from her breasts again. "But I'm going to have to disappoint you, doll," he murmured. The redhead's mouth fell open and she lifted her head to look down at him, chest heaving with mingled shock and and hurt and anger.

"What?" she asked in confusion, her lust addled brain wondering what the bleeding fuck he meant.

Evan sighed heavily, and while he made to effort to move, Lily felt her stomach drop, because he looked up at her, dark brown eyes serious. "I want to," he murmured, and he kissed the swell of her left breast. "I  _really_  want to," he clarified, and shifted so that the proof of how badly he wanted rested on her thigh, "but I'm going to be honest, Lily, I-"

"Don't worry about it," the redhead interrupted, the sting of rejection washing over her, making her impossibly more angry. She sat up on her elbows, feeling her temper raging, and swallowed past the stupid urge to just start bawling because it was so not even fair she could barely stand it.

"Lily," Evan said, moving off of her. She couldn't even look at him.

"Really, it's fine," she lied. "I just remembered anyway, I've got a massive Potions assignment due Friday, so I should probably go anyway, and get some work done on it," she said stiffly, and buttoned her shirt. Lily felt like an idiot, and her eyes pricked with tears that she bit her lip to contain, because she couldn't help but wonder if it was her, and she was missing some crucial  _something_  for Evan to take advantage of what she desperately wanted to throw at him.

"You're angry," he sighed, and she shook her head, even as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. She was  _furious_. Evan turned her head back to face him and kissed her again, and Lily gasped through her nose, because it was harder and far more dominant than any of his kisses had ever been before. Her anger melted into molten desire, her libido flaring and the redhead, feeling desperate, pulled her shirt right up and off and climbed over his lap. "Lily," he said, but she kissed him instead.

"I want to too," she panted. "Please don't say no, Evan."

"I don't want to say no," he rumbled in his rough, sexy Scottish accent, and Lily reached around to undo her bra. MacDougall stayed her hands. "But that isn't a yes," he said. The redhead bit her lip, cheeks going pink in mingled embarrassment that she was obviously  _way_  more on board than he was, and shock because she'd yet to meet a boy who stopped her getting naked before when she was trying to be seductive. Rejection flashed again, making her eyes fill.

"Why not?" she murmured, unable to meet his eyes. Evan sighed, pulling her close to his warmth and Lily turned her face into his neck.

"I told you my ex messed around," he said softly, and the redhead stiffened, because she sure as hell hoped he wasn't comparing her to that. "And I decided after that I wasn't going to just fall into bed with girls anymore." He tilted her chin up and kissed her lightly. "I want more than just your body, Lily."

She nodded miserably, and slid off his lap, because that was noble, and awfully sweet, but she had a feeling he wouldn't budge, and Lily didn't see why he couldn't have her body while waiting for the rest. The redhead donned her shirt, swallowing past the lump of tears, and riled her temper instead. Because there was a very large part of her that was pissed still, that yet again, she was being denied something she really wanted. And all because Mindy fucking Irwin couldn't keep her bloody shirt on.

And, like lightning, she had a stab of guilt, because now she knew what Scorpius had felt like last year, after breaking up with Rose. He'd wanted and she'd wanted too, but still kept him at arm's length. Lily pushed those traitorous thoughts aside and glanced at Evan, who was buttoning his own shirt. "Guess I'll get a start on my homework," she said, biting back a sigh and firming her wobbly lower lip. "See you."

She didn't wait for him to respond before slipping out of his dormitory, and then all but ran back through the Hufflepuff common room and out into the corridor again. She was hurt and angry, and underneath it all, still hot and bothered and half turned on. Her eyes blurred as she hustled up the stairs, intending to go up to her own dorm to sulk and drown in self pitying tears, but just as she was rounding the last landing, she walked into something solid.

Her mouth fell open and she gasped in a lungful of bubblegum and weed scented air, then looked up into Horace Carmichael's eyes. "Whoa, Potter, are you having your monthly? You look like you're either going to cry or punch someone."

The redhead flinched, because that was kind of mean, but it pushed her simmering temper into rage mode, and she shoved Carmichael hard. "Fuck you, you tosser!" she snarled. His brows went up in surprise, even as the dimple popped and he flashed his amazing smile, which only made her think about why she was pissed in the first place.

"Is that an invitation, Potter?" he asked, and she pushed past him, but Carmichael grasped her hand, spinning her back to face him, and she shoved him again, harder still.

"Maybe it is, Carmichael," she said, narrowing hazel eyes dangerously, feeling furious and horny and thoroughly riled, because his smile morphed into a smirk, as though he knew precisely what she feeling, and she had to fight the urge to slap him.

"MacDougall's not interested?" he asked shrewdly, and Lily swore, for a second, she saw red. And the next thing she knew, she was gripping Carmichael by the collar and then crushed her mouth against his, right there in the stairwell. "Ow, Potter, no need to maul me," he teased after she'd pulled back, goading her temper impossibly more.

"You're such a fucking prick," she said, and grabbed his hand, all but dragging him up the last half flight of stairs and then down the Seventh Floor corridor. "And sometimes," she snapped, glaring over her shoulder even as she marched to her destination, "I kind of hate you."

Carmichael chuckled, but she stopped walking at last, and she felt a vicious surge of pleasure when he grunted as she swung him round and into the very solid wooden door of a broom closet she'd spotted on the Marauder's Map she'd never noticed before. "Shit, Potter, you're not supposed to beat me up," he murmured, but she couldn't tell if he was serious or not, because he smiled at her. Lily couldn't resist melting all over him, then taking his lip ring into her mouth, and snogging Carmichael silly.

"Shut the fuck up," she breathed, her libido melting her fury, and even as her body warmed up in all the right paces, she was still mad. She grasped fistfuls of Carmichael's shirtfront, grinding her pelvis eagerly into his as they snogged hungrily, and groaned into his mouth as he grabbed her ass and forced her closer.

"You need to smoke a fucking joint, Potter," he murmured after breaking from her mouth. Lily pulled back, hauled Carmichael off the door, and opened it.

"Later, Carmichael," she said, and smirked a little, because his brows shot up, and he looked truly shocked. "For now, all I want you to do is shut the fuck up and get ready to get laid, you tosser." She shoved him abruptly into the broom closet in the empty corridor and followed him in, closing the door even as his mouth covered hers.

"Are you serious?" he breathed, even as Lily pulled her shirt off for the second time in the last half hour. "Fucking hell," he groaned.

Lily grasped his shoulders, lifting a thigh around him, and then bit his neck hard. "Dead serious, Carmichael, unless you insist on talking." He undid his belt, but nothing else was forthcoming. Lily told herself she wasn't as awful as her conscience thought, because she was just getting the urge curbed, really. Because she still really liked Evan, and he was, without question, the very best sort of boyfriend a girl could wish for. And she wanted to keep dating him. But if she was expected to simply sit around, waiting for Evan to get whatever else he was looking for from her, she would go mad, surely.

But Lily couldn't repress the sluttiest part of her, the animalistic, primal sliver that  _demanded_  satisfaction. So she snogged Carmichael silly, and let him undo her bra and slide her panties down, and had hot, if slightly muffled, sex in a broom closet with the Seventh Year Ravenclaw. Carmichael was the perfect balance of aggressive and tender, and when she finally gave in to the blinding pleasure, she couldn't help but feel something stir in her chest as he rumbled, "Still so fucking good, Potter." Whether good or bad, she wasn't entirely sure.

After they both descended back to reality and got dressed again, Lily felt the weight of guilt settle heavily on her shoulders. She'd just, quite willingly and without thought, cheated on the best boyfriend a girl could ask for. And while she felt a determined streak of justified indignation, that she had only done it because her boyfriend hadn't wanted to satisfy her, she still felt like a shitty person, because now she was no better than stupid Mindy Irwin. If not worse.

She exited the broom closet sighing, and pushed a hand through her mussed hair, torn between letting her still bottled tears fall and telling Carmichael to jump off the Astronomy Tower when he threw a casual arm over her shoulders. "Coming for a smoke now?" he asked, and saw him toying with the lip ring out of the corner of her eye, and smirked a tiny bit, because despite actually loathing him at times, Carmichael was probably the best person with which to become an awful human being by cheating. She doubted he'd tell a soul, and there was zero chance of him acting any differently after the broom closet interlude. And besides, now that she'd gotten her urges dealt with, she'd be good and ready to wait for Evan to be ready with her to bring their relationship to the next level.

"Sure," she replied, and headed back down the stairs with him and quickly outside, headed to the lake.

"So I have to ask, Potter," the Ravenclaw asked after about half the fat joint, and Lily arched a brow, because his tone was weird. Though she reckoned that may have also been the amazing weed making her feel impossibly high.

"What?" Lily demanded when the dark haired wizard didn't continue.

"Is this going to be a one off?" he murmured, and she shivered a tiny bit in the chill as she sat beside him on the far side of the lake's bank under her double layer cardigan and cloak.

"Of course," she said lightly, and accepted the joint when he passed it, taking a long drag, and laughed, because his lower lip pushed out the tiniest bit, and he rolled dark eyes. "Don't pout, Carmichael, you big baby," she teased. "If anything should change, I'll be sure to let you know, tosser."

Carmichael grinned, leaning in to kiss her, and plucked his joint from her fingers. "Smashing," he said blandly, and Lily shoved his face aside playfully. "But maybe in my dorm room, instead of a too small, too dark broom closet next time, Potter."

Lily snorted. "We both know you'll take whatever you can get, Carmichael," she mumbled.

"You bet, babe," he said, and grinned, and she couldn't help but smile with him a little.

Lily didn't see Evan again until dinner, after sitting through a painful hour and a half of Transfiguration where she tried to focus on turning her teacup into a tortoise without saying a word with zero success. She did manage, however, to play out eight and a half complete scenarios where Evan had somehow found out she'd affirmed herself as the biggest slut she knew and cheated on him like his slutty ex, only worse. She was coming down the stairs with Cheryl and Matilda, feeling glum as the other two witches chatted about the absurdity of the lesson, because really, who wanted a china pattern tortoise anyway, really, when she saw her boyfriend and Robert Robertson by the door to the Great Hall.

"Hi," she said, forcing a smile through her nerves and anxiety and guilt as she broke away from her friends, who smiled and cast Lily knowing looks. Robertson shot her a disparaging glance, and then looked back at Evan.

"Anyway, Evan, I'm just saying it doesn't look good."

Lily's brows pulled together, wondering what Robertson was talking about, but Evan merely rolled dark eyes. "It doesn't look bad either, Rob," he said, and Robertson pulled a face, but moved on into the Great Hall anyway. "Hey," he said, turning toward the redhead, and she lifted onto her toes and kissed the side of his mouth.

"My table or yours?" she asked, striving for normalcy, even if she felt on edge, and took his hand, smile warming as she looked up at his boyishly cute face and his curls that begged to be tamed by her fingers.

"Yours," he said easily, but paused as Lily made to go in to have dinner. "Lily," he said quietly, and she looked round, a half step ahead of him. "Are we good after this afternoon?" he asked softly.

Lily wet her lips, because she didn't think so, considering what she'd done, but forced a bright smile. "Of course," she said, almost believing it herself.

"Good," he murmured, and squeezed her hand gently, her palm feeling tiny compared to his, and Lily felt her guilt all but crushing her.

She cleared her throat and then said softly, "I can respect that you want to go slow," she murmured, because she did. It was unbearably noble. Lily just knew she wasn't as equally straight-laced. "And I want to wait for you," she added, and felt a stab of guilty pleasure as he kissed her lingeringly until Professor Longbottom, who was passing by, cleared his throat loudly.

"Thank you, Lily," he whispered. "But don't think I haven't gotten your message loud and clear, doll," he added in a throaty, low brogue that had her nipples hardening and her arms looping around his neck as she pressed into him.

"Then thank you," she murmured without thinking, because she felt a little better that at least he understood she needed more.

When they went to sit at the Gryffindor table, still hand in hand, the redhead purposely took a seat that would have her facing away from the Ravenclaw table, managing to focus entirely on Evan, and told herself he was better never knowing she'd wavered on the monogamy of their relationship. It would only hurt him, and the redheaded witch, listening to him talk about Robertson fumbling the Quaffle seven times during their last Quidditch training session, making her laugh, was loathe to ever hurt him. Because he was quite possibly the nicest guy she'd ever known, and definitely the sweetest. No, it would just be cruel to let him know she'd done the unthinkable, and although Lily still felt sick with guilt, she told herself it was over and done, and there was no reason to ruin something great with the news she'd fucked around, and with Carmichael no less. And now that he knew she wanted more than just steamy kisses and teasing touches, Lily saw no reason to ever even think of that broom closet incident again.

Three days later, Lily was going up the stairs after spending a steamy hour in Evan's bed that had gone as far as the last time she'd visited his dormitory, and no further. He'd gotten her shirt halfway unbuttoned, kissing her cleavage and making her crazy with want and breathless with anticipation which had then been cut short after she had foolishly undone her own bra and scared her boyfriend into recovering his propriety and behaving. And just when she wasn't paying attention, the stupid staircases swerved and swung her in the opposite direction she wanted to go just before she reached the Seventh Floor. She cursed colourfully, and sighed, hustling off the stupid stairs and trying to figure out where she'd landed, only to realize she was now on the Sixth Floor, somewhere near the Arithmancy classroom she was beginning to loathe visiting.

"This is so fucking bollocks," she grumbled to herself as she hurried down the Sixth Floor to a secret passageway she'd seen on the Marauder's Map, and tried to recall precisely where it would be. "Who the hell invents tricky staircases? Like how is that remotely helpful in a  _school_?"

"Talking to yourself is the first sign you're crazy, Potter," said a familiar voice from behind a large tapestry as she passed by, and the redhead almost jumped out of her skin. But then Carmichael appeared from behind it, and she let out her breath, smacking him instead.

"You just fucking scared me half to death, Carmichael!" she growled, still nettled that she'd gotten shut down by Evan again, and pissed that she'd have just walked right past her shortcut of choice had Carmichael not startled her.

"Hardly," he said, grinning, and she blushed a little when he hooked a finger into a gap in her blouse, right between her breasts. "You missed a button, Potter," he said, and tugged significantly. "Need any assistance?"

Desire flashed through her, making her skin prickle with awareness and her heart rate kick up deliriously, but she shook her head firmly. "No thanks," she replied easily. He grinned wider, and moved into her personal bubble.

"Shame, Potter. I barely even got to enjoy your tits last time." Lily blushed, dark, and shoved him. Carmichael merely laughed. "Come for a smoke with me, then, and stop prowling the corridors after getting tricked by the stairs like a Firstie."

Lily rolled her eyes, but she didn't have anything else to do that didn't involve homework and her watch told her she still had plenty of time before lunch. "Sure," she said, but shrugged off his more than friendly arm as they headed back toward the stairs. Carmichael didn't comment, and they went under the stadium seating around the Quidditch pitch to smoke up, and Lily dropped her eyes with borrowed potion, even as the dark haired wizard made fun of her when she missed twice.

"Go fuck yourself," she muttered as they headed back up to the castle. Lily felt mellow and high, and mostly relaxed, except she couldn't help thinking, almost obsessively, about the last time she'd smoked up with Carmichael. After they'd fucked, more precisely. And how much the absolute worst part of her was tempted to do it again.

"Apparently that's what I'm settling for," Carmichael shot back. Lily couldn't help but laugh.

"Aw, poor baby," she teased, and elbowed him playfully. "No one else interested?"

"Ouch," Carmichael drawled, and hazel eyes dropped to his lip ring as he chewed it thoughtfully. "I've got options, but you might be the best of the lot, Potter."

She snorted. "Might be? Think again, tosser. And who says I'm even one of your options? I'm taken."

"That unbearably slutty part of you that keeps sleeping with me says so," Carmichael shot back, and Lily's mouth dropped open. "Even though you sometimes hate me and I'm a tosser," he added, smirking, and shut her mouth for her. Lily balled her hand into a fist to resist the urge to slap him, even as they got toward the front doors.

"That was one time, and the last time," she said firmly, and Carmichael shrugged.

"Whatever you say, babe."

The redheaded witch scowled, even as he chuckled, and hissed, "Don't call me that, and sod off."

"I'm going upstairs," Carmichael said pleasantly, as they started climbing in tandem. "I'll sod off when I get to the turn off for Ravenclaw Tower," he said, grinning across at her with his adorable dimple, and Lily shook her head, striving for calm as she took a deep breath. He was obviously being a prick and baiting her into getting mad enough, probably in hopes she'd have sex with him again, to snap, and she told herself she wouldn't rise.

"Good for you," she replied frostily and Carmichael chuckled lightly. Then he elbowed her halfway up their silent ascent. "What?" she said, looking over. A dark brow lifted.

"You know, you're awfully moody, Potter. Do you want to buy something to chill the fuck out?"

"Like what?" she said suspiciously, because if he said pills, she would lose it.

"Something to smoke," Carmichael replied, rolling dark eyes. "I know you've gone all straight edge and lame for the most part on me now, Potter. See what happens when you date a troll?"

"Don't say that!" Lily snapped, pausing on the Fifth Floor landing.

"Why not?" Carmichael asked, pausing a step above her, and the redhead glared up at him.

"Because it's rude, and it's not true, and it makes you the target of my aggression in a way you probably won't enjoy," Lily snarled quietly, stomping up the stairs double time. Carmichael kept pace easily. "And Evan's twice the boyfriend you could ever dream of being, Carmichael."

The Ravenclaw laughed at that. "Of course. He makes even you look normal sized. Like I said, he's a bleeding tr-"

"You are such an asshole," she growled, panting with exertion and outrage when they got to the top of the stairs, barely thinking as she stalked after him as he moved toward Ravenclaw Tower.

"For the most part," Carmichael agreed. "But I'm not necessarily wrong, either. I'm sure MacDougall is sweet as bloody treacle tart, Potter." He rolled his eyes. "But let's face it, there's still part of you, however small, that's not entirely  _satisfied_  with your little relationship." Lily stared at him wordlessly, and he lifted his brows, looking smug. "Am I wrong?" he pushed.

Lily shoved him, right into the door that lead to the Ravenclaw common room, and felt her temper boiling. But she was only mad at herself, because he wasn't wrong, and she hated him for it. "This is one of those times I'm starting to hate you," she said through gritted teeth, trying to tell herself she loathed him. Even if part of her  _wasn't_  satisfied, and demanded fulfillment. And although she hated it, it was undeniable.

"Does that mean I've become the target of your aggression in a good way?" he asked, pulling her close, and even though part of Lily knew they might get caught, she didn't resist or pull back. "Because the last time was alright, even if you almost ripped my lip ring right out."

Lily pressed herself closer, grinding against Carmichael suggestively. "That depends," she said. His brows lifted. "Is your dorm empty?"

Carmichael grinned, and it was as incredible as the first time she'd ever seen it, and Lily told herself the gush of arousal wasn't because she  _liked_  him. It was purely physical, and she was just turned on after Evan. But when Carmichael leaned in, kissing her roughly, snogging her the way she liked best, grabbing her arse under her skirt, the redheaded witch had almost forgotten her boyfriend. And by the time she was naked in Carmichael's bed, Lily had, in short order, forgotten all about Evan entirely.

XXX


	13. Chapter 13

**Wish Upon a Star**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational drug use, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Lily chewed her lower lip and pushed a nervous hand through her hair. It had seemed like such a simple idea on the train. Hell, she'd already done it once, hadn't she?  _Just go in there, sit down, and tell them a friend invited you to stay over for the weekend_. No big deal.  _Yeah right_. The redhead sucked in a deep breath, stomach in knots, and breezed into the sitting room, missing the look her parents shared. "Hey, Mum," she said, knowing her mother would be way less likely to ask questions, "can I go to a friend's house this weekend?"

Lily knew, when her mother frowned, she was thinking about Lily going away for a weekend when she'd literally just gotten back home for the Christmas holidays. "Just Saturday night?" her mother questioned.

"Sure," Lily said easily. She wasn't about to push for that night too. Even if that had been the original plan.

"Which friend?" Harry Potter asked from behind the paper.

Lily swallowed, twirling some hair nervously around her finger. "The one I visited in the summer." This time Lily saw the look her parents shared and added hastily. "We don't hang out much, 'cause we're in different Houses, so it's nice to catch up outside school, y'know."

The redhead snuck a look at her mother, who seemed to buy it, and knew by her father's silence he didn't. "What was your friend's name again?" he asked slowly. Lily almost smiled when her mother shot him the, 'Harry, please' look.

"I told you in the summer, Dad. Carmichael," she said lightly, and knew when the paper rustled, her father was almost done the interrogation.

"It's a yes from me, honey," Ginny said firmly, and looked at her husband. "Harry?"

Harry set the paper down slowly and looked at Lily who tried to look innocent. "You'll Floo home by noon on Sunday?"

"Dad," she said, with a hint of exasperation. She didn't want to be conscious before noon. "If you want me home at noon on Sunday, I'm going tonight. We've got lots of stuff planned." Lily felt bad about the half-truths, but her parents seemed to trust her implicitly. "C'mon."

"Fine," Harry sighed. "Go then. So much for your 'family holiday'," he grumbled. Lily grinned, got up feeling buoyant, and hugged her mother and then hugged her dad tight, and kissed his cheek.

"I'll be home on Sunday, Dad. Geez, children grow up, just like you and Mum did." She rolled her eyes and smiled with the Chosen One, then ran upstairs to pack a bag.

"She's up to trouble," Harry said. "She's only sweet when she's getting away with something we don't know about."

Ginny rolled her chocolate eyes. "To you, maybe."

By the time Lily got back downstairs she was feeling oddly jittery, excited and also anxious. The summer at Carmichael's had been one thing. She had a feeling this was going to be another entirely, and part of her was downright nervous about it. But she was still mostly excited, high on the adrenaline rush of getting away with something she knew wouldn't be allowed if she'd been honest to a fault, and looking forward to a carefree weekend to kick off her holiday. She hugged and kissed her parents again, promising to be home at noon on Sunday, and threw a handful of glittering Floo powder into the massive fireplace after climbing in with her bag, and shouted "Cedar Cottage!" which was apparently the name of his parents' quaint little house.

And when she stepped out of the small red brick fireplace in the sitting room, there was Carmichael, looking bored, lounging in the armchair. He looked up and she saw he was obviously stoned. "Hey," she murmured, wondering if his parents would be home. They hadn't been in the summer. Like, at all, which Lily had found bizarre, but convenient.

"Hi. You actually convinced your parents to let you come?" he teased.

"You bet. I might actually be pretty smart sometimes."

He grinned, finally getting up from the chair, and moved toward her. And it was too easy for Lily to lean in and kiss him hungrily, enjoying his hands under her shirt. "At least there's the pretty part," he murmured, and pulled back. "Let's go upstairs."

A dark red brow arched even as she followed him up to his room. "I'm not just jumping into bed with you," she said, only half meaning it. She knew if he put enough effort in, she'd wind up in bed, naked and doing unspeakable things with him.

"Later, Potter." Her eyes rolled as she dropped her bag on a chair and she laughed at the naughty pin up witch poster.

"Really?" she drawled, pointing. "C'mon, Carmichael, you can do better than that."

"We'll call it inspiration," he said, and she laughed. "You wanna smoke a joint?"

"Always," she said lightly, and he smirked. They popped the window and sat on his bed to smoke. "So I have to ask," Lily murmured after about half of the fat joint. She felt high and carefree and utterly relaxed. "Where are your parents?"

Carmichael's mouth flickered ever so slightly into a smile for a beat. "Well, my dad fucked off when I was ten. And my mum works for months at a time. Currently she's in the Amazon, conducting a field study on the magical properties of Amazonian river foliage." Lily frowned, passing the joint, and moved to sit beside him.

"So you're just here like, all alone?"

His smile tilted crookedly. "Nah. Most of the time I go to my Gran's. But she's strict."

That made Lily laugh a little. "Ouch. Should I be offended I'm not meeting her?"

"If you want," he teased. "Even when you're mad at me you can't help but like me."

"And even when you're being charming, you're still a right prick," she shot back. She felt her libido stir as he hooked a finger into the neckline of her shirt.

"And I introduce you how, Potter?" he teased. "'Hey Gran, this is my fuck buddy'?" He toked off the joint and handed it back.

Lily took it and shoved him lightly. "You're such an ass."

After the joint they snogged and then the bell rang, announcing someone at the door. Carmichael frowned, looked at his watch and went downstairs. Lily followed and sat on the second bottom most stair as Carmichael answered the door. "You're early," he said to whoever the person was.

"I saw you get dropped off. You're holding out on me, man."

Lily watched Muggle money change hands and then some green stuff followed suit. "Toss off, I'm busy," Carmichael said, and shut the door abruptly. "So you wanna get naked now, or what?" he asked, smirking. She smiled as he leaned forward over her on the stairs.

Lily giggled. "No," she said, scooting up a step as he leaned closer over her. "Later, Carmichael."

"There's probably going to be an interruption or two later," he said, and kissed her mouth teasingly, then her jaw, then bit her neck just hard enough to have her knickers getting damp. "Besides, you promised me inappropriate activities on the train."

Lily groaned as his mouth moved lower, down her neck and grunted as he suckled her pulse point, and realized one of her hands was already under his tee. "You're kind of obsessed with sex," she teased and gasped when his mouth moved back to hers and he nipped her lower lip.

"I'm a seventeen year old heterosexual male in the company of an attractive young woman who occasionally sleeps with me. There's one track up here right now, Potter," he said, tapping his head.

Lily laughed and pulled him closer to kiss him. "How is every Friday afternoon, minimum, 'occasionally', Carmichael?" she challenged.

"Because it's not every Friday afternoon, and every Sunday night followed by Monday morning with the odd Wednesday quickie thrown in." Lily shoved him, but he merely grinned and kissed her. She suckled his lip ring. "So are we going upstairs, babe?" he murmured after several more moments of increasingly hot snogging and heavy fondling.

"I get to be on top," she breathed.

He chuckled into her cleavage, her shirt stretched down over her breasts, and groaned as she tugged his shirt up, wanting it off. "You're always on top," he grunted, then pulled back to remove the offending shirt as she did the same with her own. He pulled her to her feet and they climbed the stairs, the redhead blushing when he fondled the curve of her arse through her leggings.

"Because you like it."

"I take what I can get, Potter," he clarified, and Lily threw her shirt at him. He spanked her and she giggled, half-running into his room, and felt a blast of arousal as he gave chase and jumped with her into bed. And he totally cheated by tickling her into submission and then pinned her arms down triumphantly.

"Push your luck too far and you'll be left wanting again, Carmichael," she huffed, and groaned as he kissed her.

"That's the best part of it," the Ravenclaw teased and undid the front closure on her bra. She wriggled and arched into him and he moved lower, kissing down her neck, rolling her sensitive nipple easily in his fingers. Molten want seemed to flow through her at the spark of pleasure. "You Gryffindors always take pity on us after you've made your point," he murmured and she would've shoved him and called him a tosser, but then his mouth closed over a nipple, making her arch and moan, one hand fisting in his dark hair, the other gripping the sheet. But then, to her delight, he rolled them, and let her be on top.

Lily pushed her tongue into his mouth and felt Carmichael divesting her of her leggings in short order and grunted, pulling back roughly, and sat up properly. He made to lean up and put his mouth on her breasts again, but Lily shoved him back, smirking at the arched brow, and shed her bra properly. She lifted onto her knees and hooked her thumbs into her panties. "Admit you like me on top," she murmured.

Carmichael grinned, looking unbearably sexy with his too long bangs falling in his dark eyes. "I like you every way, babe. So long as you're moaning and begging for it."

She blushed, because she'd  _never_  live that down with him. She shifted on his lap, grinding against a very obvious erection. "You'd think for having a half-naked girl on top of you, you'd be a little nicer to her."

Carmichael sat up on an elbow again, tangling a hand in her hair, and pulled her down to kiss her. "You'd think so, but she still puts out, so I'm willing to bet she doesn't mind all that much." His hand made a fist and she whimpered, feeling liquid arousal shorting out her brain, a sharp stab of desire making her suck in a breath. "But I do like having you on top, Potter. Your tits look amazing." She laughed until she could only moan and as the last of their clothing fell away, Lily wondered vaguely in some detached part of her brain how she'd ever even been mad at the stupid prick. Sure, he was a fucking tool sometimes, and his morals left a lot to be desired, definitely, but he hadn't really done anything. She'd done it all herself, perhaps at his urging, but of her own accord. "Yes," he hissed as she bottomed out, rotating and gyrating her pelvis teasingly upon him.

"I already knew you liked it, Carmichael," she said huskily, against his ear. He groaned as she lifted the slightest bit then jolted, hard, back down, and his hands went to her ass.

"Fuck, Potter, stop teasing," he groaned.

"No," she moaned, and arched her back, thrusting her breasts out, knowing precisely how far she could push him. "I think I'll take my time, and we'll see who ends up moaning and begging for it." And she did, although she still wound up being the one to shout the words, 'Yes, please!' a dozen times and moaning uncontrollably as he fucked her from below.

A couple hours later, after they'd gone for round two, where Lily had let him be on top, and they'd taken a long hot shower and Lily had used his delicious bubble gum shampoo, they'd gone back downstairs to smoke a joint and watch Muggle telly together. Some teen drama program came on just as the bell rang and Carmichael rolled his eyes. "Hold on," he said, tossing her legs rudely off his lap and getting up. She took the joint when he passed it and put her feet back up, hearing the front door open. There was muffled talking and then the door closed.

"Who is it?" she called. "The fuzz?" Lily wasn't sure who the fuzz were, but sometimes her father, after too many drinks, joked with her Uncle Ron about them. She smirked at her own joke and then almost fell off the couch when Carmichael came back, looking amused and Evan MacDougall, looking quietly pissed, came with him. "Evan!" she said in shock, sitting up properly.

"Potter," he said lightly. There was a beat of silence where the awkward factor skyrocketed.

"Um, wow, so I can explain," she said weakly.

Carmichael sat back down, plucked the joint from her fingers and puffed. "It seems fairly self explanatory," he said. Lily pushed a hand through her hair and blew out a sigh.

"I didn't mean to hurt you," she said softly, and even to her own ears, the words felt hollow. Beside her Carmichael rolled his eyes.

MacDougall shifted his weight. "D'you think we could talk privately?" he said and glanced at the older wizard.

Carmichael smirked and shrugged. "Sure. You remember where the door is, yeah?"

Lily shot him a dark look as she got up, following the hulking young wizard back to Carmichael's front door and out onto the stoop. There was a long pause, filled with unspoken accusations and apologies. "How long?" MacDougall finally asked. Lily stared at the ground.

"Awhile," she admitted, and hazarded a glance up. MacDougall stared back evenly, face giving away nothing. "Um, since the beginning of the month."

He seemed to mull that over for a moment. "And were you going to tell me?"

Lily bit her lip wanting to lie, but he deserved the truth. Even if it was awful. "Honestly?" she whispered.

His mouth hardened. "Aye, honestly," he said, tone roughening. She gulped.

"Probably not. Which sounds awful, but I swear to Godric, you have to believe I didn't do it on purpose, and I honestly never wanted to hurt you. You're like one of the nicest people I know. I-"

"Nay, Potter," MacDougall said quietly. "You did do it on purpose. But somehow I believe that you didn't want to hurt my feelings." She bit her lip again, feeling awful. "You still did," he continued, making her feel worse, "but I'm also not an idiot, Potter."

Lily's mouth parted. "You mean you knew?"

"Aye, everyone knows. Have for a couple weeks now I reckon." Lily felt as if she'd been slapped at that. "And anyway, you obviously needed more than I was willing to give." She hated that he was being mature about this, because it was only making the guilt worse. At least if he'd been yelling and flipping out, she'd have anger and defensiveness to fall back on. Now she just felt all around crumby.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled.

"Aye, I'll bet," he said and she shot him a dirty look at that. Now he was just being smug and rubbing her face in her fuck up. "On the plus side, at least you'll have someone to console you, now." Lily could only nod. She'd known, the second she saw him, Evan was obviously going to dump her like a bag of rocks, but she still felt sad about it. "On the down side," he added, stepping off the little porch and onto the walkway, "turns out Robertson and the rest were right. And that sucks."

Lily watched him go down the little walk and turn up the street. Part of her wondered how he'd known she'd be here. Another part wondered how apparently 'everyone' seemed to know she was hooking up with Carmichael on the regular. The majority of her wanted to cry, because not only was she probably  _actually_  a slut and a terrible person for cheating on the best boyfriend she imagined a girl could ask for, she'd proven Robert Robertson of all people right. And at the end of break, she'd go back to school undoubtedly single, and everyone would know it. She sighed, pushed a hand through her hair, and went back inside. Carmichael was still on the couch, toking, so Lily went and sat with him, sighing again.

He handed her the joint and she puffed. "Your boyfriend didn't want to stay?" he drawled and Lily scowled.

"Not my boyfriend anymore," she grumbled.

Carmichael smirked, looking sidelong at her with a raised brow. "You need a hug?"

Lily did, but felt nettled by the amused condescension. "Fuck you, Carmichael."

"You already did, babe," he said, and bumped her lightly with his shoulder, then put a hand on her thigh. "C'mon, Potter. You had to know the troll would find out at some point."

Lily pursed her mouth, puffed hard off the joint and handed it back. "He's not a troll. And apparently he already knew. Probably for awhile." She looked up at him, fiddling with a hank of hair. "Apparently everyone knows."

Both of Carmichael's eyebrows shot up. "I'd like to state for the record, I haven't told anyone."

Hazel eyes rolled. "Obviously. You're not an idiot, you wouldn't risk losing the occasional lay by blabbing." Despite herself she smirked a little as he grinned at her.

"That means it's probably one of two of my least favourite people."

The redhead sighed and leaned into him. "How the hell could Worthington find out?" she demanded, already thinking ahead.

Carmichael frowned. "Zipzer," he said darkly. Lily scowled too. That blustering fuckwad?

"He wouldn't dare," she growled.

"Sure he would. He hates me and I'm positive he's jealous." Lily snorted.

"Jealous you're hooking up with me sometimes? Jealous it's not revolting to think about your tongue in my mouth? Or jealous he  _still_  looks like a malformed Winston Wizard doll, even with that stupid little moustache he grew over the summer?"

Carmichael chuckled. "All of the above," he murmured, then tossed an arm around her shoulders. "I'm guessing Zipzer told Worthington, or rather, told anyone who'd listen, and Worthington found out." He sighed and Lily pouted, because this was just a giant fucking clusterfuck.

"This is all your fault," she mumbled, folding her arms. Carmichael chuckled, took a long drag off his joint and exhaled into her mouth, kissing her.

"Yeah?" he drawled.

"Uh huh." Lily had no idea how, or why, but it felt better to blame someone else. Because if it was Carmichael's fault, she could at least pretend it wasn't pretty much all her fault. She'd really liked Evan, honestly, but she was a healthy, hormonal teenaged girl, with needs that had been awakened and were impossible to repress. He just, apparently, wasn't willing to satisfy them. So she'd found an outlet for that, but she didn't really want to date Carmichael seriously. Because compared to Evan, she knew he'd be a shit boyfriend.

"Sure thing, Potter. I'm fucking starving. You want food?"

"Yeah," she mumbled, and Carmichael outed his joint and got up to find food in the kitchen, and as she followed, Lily smiled a tiny bit. Sure, she might be a slut, and Carmichael might make a shit boyfriend, but the redhead looked at the silver lining. She had roughly forty hours of parental-supervision free time ahead, and nothing to worry about. It could be worse.

After an improvised dinner of pizza Carmichael ordered with the Muggle telephone, which was bizarre to watch and even more bizarre to fathom, they smoked another joint and as Lily was feeling sleepy, and a tad horny, she asked him how he knew so much about Muggle telephones.

"I told you, my Gran is a Muggle." Lily shifted.

"So what other kind of crazy things do Muggles have, then? The only Muggles I've met are kind of boring to be honest."

A devilish smile slid onto his mouth. "They have these things called hot tubs."

Lily frowned. "What's so crazy about that? It's a tub that's hot, right?"

"Sort of," Carmichael murmured and she frowned some more when his hand slid up and to the inside of her thigh. "C'mon, come see."

Lily rolled her eyes, because this sounded decidedly boring. And then Carmichael dragged her out the back door and across the snowy porch. "You tosser, I don't have shoes on, and my feet are freezing! What the fuck are we doing?" she hissed.

"Relax, Potter." He moved to a large black box thing at the end of the porch and Lily heard a low humming. She felt far from relaxed. She was cold, confused, and kind of concerned by the humming. And then Carmichael lifted the cover on the black box thing and steam spewed out. Lily blinked and saw what looked like boiling water in the thing. She looked at Carmichael.

"What the fuck is that, the world's biggest cauldron? How is it boiling? Is this electricity shit again?"

"It's a hot tub, Potter. It's not quite boiling, and yes, it's electricity." Her mouth parted in shock when he pulled his shirt off. "And it's cold out, so I'm getting in." Lily watched as he indeed stripped, then glanced at her. "Are you coming with?"

"Are you sure you're not going to cook me in this hot tub thing?" she asked, only half joking, because it definitely looked like it was boiling away. She took her shirt off anyway.

"Positive." He shucked his boxers and climbed in, groaning a little at the temperature. Lily hesitated, then looked around.

"What if someone sees us?" she whispered.

"That's why you don't stand there without a shirt, Potter. You strip quick and get in." She glared, but hurriedly undid her bra and shucked the last of her modesty.

Shivering and covered in goosebumps, she climbed over the edge of the hot tub and stuck a foot in, hissing, because it was  _hot_. "This might be boiling," she said, and groaned as she slipped in. The water inside was steaming, instantly going to work on any and every sore muscle she had from earlier, and jets of water massaged her back. "Ohh, but this is nice," she hummed, eyes closing a little as she relaxed entirely.

Carmichael smirked. "Now imagine if you were high on E," he murmured and she laughed.

"That might be sensory overload," she admitted. He drifted over, one hand curving over her hip.

"No," he said lightly. "This might be though," he added softly and kissed her lingeringly, thumb teasing her hip bone, and Lily groaned, moving on instinct over his lap as they snogged, hands everywhere.

The hot tub soon lead to his bedroom, and it was very dark outside the windows as the redhead laid her head against the very soft pillow wearing nothing but one of his t-shirts as he rolled a joint. "So I have to ask," Carmichael said softly, glancing down at her briefly. "How far did MacDougall even get?"

Lily snorted, rolling to her side. "Yeah right, Carmichael. I'm so not answering that."

He grinned, put his box aside, and sparked up the joint as he laid back. Lily laid her head on his shoulder. "C'mon, babe." Lily rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Obviously the answer is not far enough." She frowned and fought the urge to sigh, then sat up to hit the joint.

"Is that 'cause you're just a bit slutty, or because he's too shy to take advantage?" Carmichael asked. Lily glared.

"You're a fucking asshole. And it's none of your business." Lily privately thought it was likely a bit of both. "And I'm more than a bit slutty at this point."

Carmichael chuckled. "Thank Godric for that. I almost thought you were serious back in September when you said you wouldn't be this year." She smacked him.

XXX


	14. Chapter 14

**Wish Upon a Star**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational drug use, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Lily managed to make it home at one minute before noon on Sunday, even after she'd gone out, drinking and smoking with Carmichael the night before. They'd gone to the house of one of his Muggle friends a couple blocks away and stayed late, though they eventually wound up going back to his place for messy drunk sex that was equally hot and hilarious. When Lily got home, after a thorough goodbye from Carmichael, she was still tired, and pretty sure she needed least three more cups of coffee to be functioning properly.

Instead she walked out of the fireplace in the library and into her father and Albus talking, looking like mirror images as they faced each other, only one about twenty years older. Lily noticed Albus looked grumpy as he caught sight of her. When her father turned, Lily almost winced, because he looked awfully grumpy too. She pasted on her best bright, fake smile. "Holy Godric, Al, no hug for your baby sister after not seeing me for half a year? Ouch. I might even tell Mum." She moved forward and beamed at her father, who looked thoroughly grumpy still.  _Damn_. "Hi, Dad. What's with the face?" She hugged him and then Albus, and it was like hugging mannequins.

"Did you have fun at your friend's house?" her father asked dutifully.

Lily smiled. "Yeah," she admitted. Harry smiled back as Albus slumped into a chair. Lily hefted her bag. "Well, I'm gonna go upstairs 'cause we stayed up late last night," she added, and made to hustle out of the room before punishments for wrongdoing could be handed out.

"Which friend was it again?" Harry asked, looking suspiciously intent. "Carmichael, did you say?"

Lily licked her lips. "Uh huh."

She knew exactly where this was going as Albus shifted in his seat. "I didn't know Carmichael had a sister," Albus said pointedly, and Lily grit her teeth. Al had totally ratted her out, and she was going to get even.

"Only child," she confirmed, refusing to sell herself out until she had no choice.

Harry Potter frowned. "And what's Carmichael's first name?" he demanded. Well there went choice.

The redhead folded her arms furiously. "Horace," she muttered.

"So you lied to your mother and me," Harry said. Lily frowned.

"I did not," she snapped. "You never asked if my friend was a girl or guy. You and Mum just assumed it was a girl."

"Assumed who was a girl?" Ginny asked, Levitating a tray of lunch before herself as she breezed in. Albus hungrily picked up a sandwich as soon as the tray hit the table by the sitting area and crammed half into his mouth.

"Carmichael," he said, mouth full. Lily blushed as her mother's mouth dropped open.

"Lily Luna Potter!" Ginny barked. "I had better be misunderstanding this conversation, missy. You did not just spend the weekend with a boy!"

"Um," she said, looking down.

"She did," Harry confirmed somberly. "I knew she was up to something, Gin."

Lily felt mutinous and wanted to slink up to her room, but Albus would probably rat her out again if she wasn't around to defend herself. Godric, the last thing she needed was her parents knowing precisely the sort of friendship she and Carmichael shared. She scowled at her brother who looked grouchy still, considering he'd just ruined her holiday. She'd have thought he'd be ecstatic. "He's not your boyfriend, is he?" the older redheaded witch demanded.

"No," she said firmly. Albus snorted at that.

"Thank Merlin," her father muttered, and Lily privately agreed. That might negatively affect Carmichael's lifespan.

"And what did his parents have to say about that, him having you there?" Ginny demanded.

Lily hesitated, because she did  _not_  want to admit they'd been completely unsupervised and she doubted her parents would buy that Carmichael was technically an adult and thusly it was fine. "Um," she said. "Well his dad doesn't live with him," she said unhelpfully. "And his mum works a lot."

Ginny frowned, sharing a look with Harry. "Let's go upstairs," her mother said firmly to her, leaving no option of saying no. Lily sighed, barely holding back the eye roll. She was almost positive part two of The Talk would commence when they got to her bedroom, but she followed her mother up the stairs resignedly to her room. When the door closed behind them Lily tossed her bag down and flopped into bed.

"If you're going to give me the sex talk, please save it, Mum," she said into her pillow. Ginny sighed through her nose.

"Honey, I know you might think you're ready-"

"Mum," she groaned, trying to phrase what she had to say delicately.

"No, really, Lily. I know you might think you're ready for physical intimacy, but honestly honey, it's best to wait for these sorts of things. How well do you even know this boy, really?"

Lily wanted to Crucio herself. "I know him really well, Mum," she said firmly. "We've been hanging out since the beginning of last year."

"Well, be that as it may, honey, it's obviously normal to have  _urges_ , but-"

"Mum!" Lily said, rolling over. "Godric, I know about urges, please, can we just skip this talk?" She was fairly certain her face was going as red as her hair.

"Well there are certain precautions you have to take if you decide to act upon those urges, Lily," her mother said firmly.

Lily took a deep breath. Here it came. "I know Mum. I'm aware of how and when to use The Charm, and I've already had practice." There was a beat of silence.

"What?" Ginny said in a choked voice.

"I lost my virginity ages ago, Mum. And no, not to Carmichael if that's your next question."

"When!?" Ginny demanded.

Lily blushed, seriously tempted to Crucio herself to get out of answering. Instead she mumbled, "End of Fourth Year."

"Lily!" her mother said, clearly shocked.

The younger redhead frowned. "Yeah, well it was kind of a mistake the first time, but it worked out in the end," she mumbled. She wondered if her mum would faint if she mentioned she'd also done the deed with her brother's best friend.

"Oh honey, I didn't know you were…" Lily lifted her brows, because that wasn't exactly something she blabbed about to her parents. "And this Carmichael boy," Ginny said hesitantly. Lily couldn't make eye contact as she blushed guiltily. "Do you-?"

"Yes, mother," she said stiffly. "Carmichael and I have sex."

There was a long moment of silence where Lily considered moving to a new country after break so she'd never have to look at her mother again after this trainwreck of a conversation. "And you're being safe, right?" Ginny said at long last.

"Godric,  _yes_ , just please stop, Mum," Lily groaned, flopping back.

"Well I'd like to meet your friend, honey," Ginny said and Lily decided she'd just get reconstructive spells on her face, change her name, and leave the country the second she was legal. "Is he cute?"

"Ew, Mum, please," she groaned, beyond embarrassed, edging into mortified. "And no, he's  _hot_." She pointedly didn't mention her boyfriend, who she supposed was her ex now, had been the cute one and Carmichael was just a hot outlet for sexual frustration and an excellent source for weed.

"Is he going to be at King's Cross in January when you go back to school? I want to meet him, and I'm sure your father-"

"No!" Lily said, sitting upright, half glaring. "No meeting Carmichael." Because she knew her father was probably getting an earful from Albus right now and would hate him on principle. And her mother would take one look at the long bangs, the lip ring, and the general air of shadiness associated with Carmichael and dislike him. So not happening.

Ginny Potter sighed, getting up. "Fine fine," she said lightly, then gave Lily a pointed look. "So, since he's not your boyfriend, what is he then, honey?"

Lily grit her teeth. Stupid fucking Albus, she was going to put Bulbadox powder in his underpants. "He's my friend with benefits," she said grimly. "And even then, it's not like we hook up all the time."

Ginny frowned and went to the door. "I'm not going to tell your father what we just talked about," she said and Lily sagged with relief, "if you promise me to at least date the boy. I don't know what friends with benefits means, but I don't like it. Make him commit himself, honey."

"I promise," Lily said automatically. "If he asks, I'll say yes," she said truthfully, knowing full well Carmichael would never ask.

"And you point him out on January fourth when we're at King's Cross," Ginny added. Lily frowned. "I promise I won't make a scene," Ginny said, hand over heart.

"Fine," the younger redhead grumbled.

And on January fourth, after an awkward silence all the way to King's Cross as her parents communicated silently with looks and the occasional sigh. Lily was relieved when they found Hugo and his parents at the platform and moved to talk privately with her cousin. "So be straight with me," she hissed. "Did you know about me and Carmichael?"

Hugo's cheeks went pink. "Uh, what?" he said unconvincingly.

"Damn it, how long did you know?"

"I found out like two weeks before break," Hugo admitted looking down, then frowned at her. "It's not  _true_  is it?" he asked after Lily pulled a grim face.

Lily felt instantly defensive. "What, that I wanted to get laid and my boyfriend didn't want to oblige me? Sure," she hissed.

"Come on, Lily," he sighed. "You could've picked anyone other than bloody Carmichael."

The redhead frowned, folding her arms. "Whatever. When are you gonna tell everyone you're hooking up with Cheryl again?" she muttered back. "I know for a fact she doesn't have a broomstick, so seeing one sticking out from under her bed was kind of a dead giveaway."

Hugo's ears went red, along with the rest of his face. "No one knows I-"

"Not yet," Lily cut in pointedly. "Who told you?"

Hugo frowned. "About you and Carmichael? Worthington told me, asked if I knew if it was true. I told him I doubted it."

Lily pursed her mouth. "Ugh." The redhead shot Hugo a silencing look as their mothers approached.

Ginny put an arm around Lily's shoulders and the redhead, who'd purposely avoided looking around for him, knew her mother would want to have Carmichael pointed out. "Let's get a photo, honey," she said, and they moved back toward Harry and Ron. The young witch huffed out a disgruntled sigh and glanced at her watch. Damn, still ten minutes to go. "So where's your friend?" Ginny demanded in a whisper as they walked sedately.

Lily glanced around, but didn't immediately spot Carmichael. "Dunno, Mum. Maybe he already boarded. Too bad."

"You barely looked, Lily," her mother chided. Lily bit back a sigh and looked again, and was about to repeat that he was probably already on board, and then she saw him in the sunny station. He was about a quarter of the way down the platform, talking to a witch who faced away from Lily but who appeared to have the same dark hair. His mum, maybe? "Well?" Ginny whispered.

Lily looked down and took a breath, then peeked back at Carmichael. "Two benches down, with the blue hoodie and black jeans," she mumbled, blushing, and then darker when Carmichael glanced up, as if hearing her, and met her gaze. He smiled the tiniest bit and purposely toyed with his lip ring.

"Oh no, honey," her mother said, seeming disappointed.

Lily rolled her eyes, smirked at Carmichael and then turned away. "Please, Mum," she sighed.

Ginny bit her lower lip, obviously bursting to suggest Lily find someone more clean cut and Quidditch-playing, and she thought briefly of Evan, and then frowned. "I'm just saying, honey, there's plenty of fish in the sea. And you said yourself it's not particularly serious, so just maybe think long term with your boyfriends."

Lily pursed her mouth. "We don't all date our soul mate in Fifth Year," she retorted, and then Scorpius flashed through her mind. She resisted the urge to pout and scowl at that thought, because although he'd obviously been in the same country, she hadn't seen him still. "Besides, did you know Carmichael got twelve Outstandings on his OWLs?"

The redhead was beyond grateful when they finally boarded at last call and waved to her parents until the first bend then found a compartment with her dorm mates. "Hey," she sighed, because Lily had realized, after a half dozen people stared at her and then whispered the second she passed, everyone who cared obviously knew she was officially a major slut. Again.

"Straight up," Cheryl said without preamble. "Is it true?"

Lily didn't even ask. "Yes," she said, frowning a bit and Levitating her trunk up into the luggage rack. "And I know, I'm an awful person," she added as the Pellard twins exchanged looks.

"I'd say more like awfully smart," Cheryl said, and Lily shot her a grateful smile. "Seriously, the beefcake was cute, but so not you."

"So how long did you all know?" she demanded.

"We heard like a week and a half before break," Hope said.

Cheryl nodded. "Worthington?" Lily asked darkly, pulling out her stash of Christmas chocolate. Cheryl nodded again, helping herself to one of Lily's chocolate Galleons. "I want to know what that weasel is playing at," she grumbled.

The twins made identical grimaces. "He wants to be Carmichael," Faith whispered. "Bonifacio told me he was asking for a hookup, looking for someone to score pills or some shit off. And Bonifacio told me after he asked why he needed pills, Worthington said he had to 'persuade a temperamental redhead to loosen up'."

Lily felt a shiver of anxiety. Sure, she was a slut, and obviously some people knew she'd dropped E, but she didn't want the reputation that anytime she hung out with Carmichael she was flying going around about her. "Why would he think I'd do pills with him?" she asked, lip curling. She was pretty positive even if she was higher than ever before she wouldn't hook up with Worthington.

Faith frowned. "Because Carmichael does them, so he probably thinks you do too."

Lily scowled. Spreading the truth that she'd been fucking Carmichael while still technically dating Evan was one thing. Insinuating lies about her being a major druggie or whatever? Oh hell no!

"You don't, do you?" Hope asked, mouth parting.

"No," Lily said firmly. "Not my thing."

"I told you," Faith said.

"But you have before, right?" Cheryl asked with interest. Lily didn't comment, merely shrugged. Cheryl seemed to take that as an affirmative. "Any good?"

"Depends," Lily admitted vaguely. "Imagine being drunk and high at the same time, but more intense. Everything feels great, but it's kind of too fuzzy to be amazing."

The other three girls looked contemplative and then the compartment door slid open and Lily reached for her wand in her bag as Stephanie Marsden stood there. "What d'you want?" the hazel eyed witch asked rudely.

"Just coming to say thanks, Potter." Lily narrowed her eyes. "I was banking on you lasting a little longer, but now that you've lived up to your reputation, I've got a nice clear field."

The redhead smiled nastily. "You're so welcome," she said brightly, feeling a stab of delight at the other witch's expression. "Even if you have like literally no chance, best of luck. I mean," she giggled, covering her mouth dramatically, "if you knew Evan at  _all_ you'd know he doesn't date the sloppy seconds of his friends. Should've thought about that before you stuck your tongue down Robertson's throat, eh?"

"Ouch," Cheryl said.

Marsden glared. "Well at least I didn't lie to his face about it for like a month." Lily flipped her off as she flounced away and sighed, rubbing a hand over her face and then pushing it through her hair.

"So are you gonna date Carmichael now?" Hope asked casually after a few moments. Lily smirked.

"I'm not that dumb," she muttered. "Carmichael's not boyfriend material." Just before lunch, Lily wanted to stretch her legs, so she got up and wandered the train for a bit, telling herself she wasn't looking for Carmichael.

"In here, Potter," a low voice murmured, and a hand pulled her around into a narrow compartment Lily was pretty sure was supposed to be a storage closet, and her nose told her it was Carmichael who'd abducted her. It was the same little spot they'd made plans to get together on break a fortnight ago.

"What the fuck are you doing in here?" she whispered as Carmichael's hands roved around her waist.

"Waiting for you to come find me," Carmichael said, and felt him smirking as his mouth brushed hers. He flattened her to the wall and snogged her, hot and soft, tongue teasing hers and fingers nimbly slipping under her shirt and undoing her bra. "Wanna fuck?" he murmured.

Lily muffled a laugh in his neck. "Yeah right," she breathed. "I might be single but I'm not desperate," she breathed and groaned as he fondled her breasts, teasing her nipples. "But I have some interesting news to share with you," she murmured, reaching to push his arms down.

"It better be damn good," he grumbled. "I'm high and horny and you're so fucking soft, babe," he rumbled. Lily bit her lower lip when his lips brushed her neck.

"Focus," she said as firmly as possible. "You'll never guess who's been telling everyone we hooked up."

"It was Worthington. That better not be the point."

Lily frowned. "Apparently he was trying to find a hookup to get pills, because he wants to be you. And since you do them, I must too, and he wants to get me loosened up. Probably to sleep with me."

"Hmm," Carmichael said noncommittally. "Hence getting your little boyfriend to ditch you."

Lily rolled her eyes as his hands cupped her breasts again. "Why do I get the feeling if you had boobs of your own you'd never need a real woman?"

Carmichael laughed softly, then tugged hard, twisting just enough to toe the line of pain, on her nipples, wrenching a lusty moan from her. "That's not far off the mark, Potter."

"See? Pretty smart." She kissed him and pushed his hands down again, doing her bra back up. "I have to get back to my compartment, pervert."

"Are you coming for a quickie tonight?" he asked, and nipped at the most sensitive spot just below and behind her ear. The redhead huffed out a breath and shoved his hair back, raking a hand through it.

"Maybe. I'll meet you for a walk if you want, though." Carmichael shrugged.

"Sure." His hands moved around her hips and she grinned, then gasped, arching into him, as he gripped her skimpy knickers with his fingertips and pulled them taut over her. "Fuck, you're a tease."

"Always," she replied coyly, kissed him again and slipped from the little closet. When Lily got back to her own compartment, Matilda was there with the rest, taking a break from Prefect duties. Lily was relieved when the lunch trolley came.

And then her relief died, because as Lily leaned out of the compartment as the woman trundled down toward them, someone two compartments ahead looked out, and then down at her, and said someone was Evan. She felt something like guilt weigh her down, sagging her shoulders, but she offered a weak smile. Evan merely looked at her steadily and then withdrew back to his own compartment. Lily did the same and sighed.

When the redhead got to her dorm much later, she tossed her stuff down, not bothering to unpack properly, and pulled on a hoodie under her cloak to go meet Carmichael. As Lily waited for a massive group of Second and Third Years, all talking excitedly about something, to come in and get out of the bloody way so she could exit the portrait hole, someone came up behind her, smelling delectable, and slipped a warm arm around her waist. "Hey, Lily. You look cold." She barely repressed a shudder.

"You've got five seconds to stop touching me," she growled. His arm withdrew, but she still felt him in her personal bubble, and whirled, glaring at Worthington. "Seriously, take a hint, I'm not interested in you."

"C'mon, Potter. I'm simply commenting on how amazing your tits look in that shirt. And your nipples are hard, so either you're cold, or you really are interested." He grinned. "Should I take that to mean you're  _not_  cold?"

Lily shoved him pointedly aside, ignoring him, and exited the portrait hole. To her chagrin, Worthington followed her. "Go away," she said acidly.

"I'm trying. Stop going the same way as me," he said easily, two paces behind her as she marched toward the stairs. She shot him a glare over her shoulder.

"You think you're so clever," she sneered. "Seriously, I am never going to get with you."

"Aw, it's almost how cute you always bring up the subject of us sleeping together. I think you might secretly have a crush on me."

"You're seriously deluded," she growled.

"But of course, you're probably more interested in Carmichael, anyway, right? That's where you're going, isn't it, Lily?" Lily ignored him, refusing to rise. She fairly ran down the stairs. Worthington kept pace easily. "I'll bet he's got things, say for instance, your boyfriend, doesn't have, am I right?"

The words spilled out before Lily could stop herself. "I don't have a boyfriend, thanks to you."

"Aw, c'mon, Lily, MacDougall would've found out on his own anyway." Lily glared, because true as that may be, she had been so very careful, she didn't even know how Worthington had found out. "Or are you just disappointed everyone knows just what you and Carmichael hanging out entails?"

"I'm only going to say this once, so listen up, loser," the redhead snarled, pausing in the Entrance Hall. "If you don't want a face full of boils, you'll keep your fucking mouth shut when it comes to me. And just for the record, even if I went rolling, I wouldn't give you the time of day."

"I'd love to test that theory, babe. I'll be sure to see if I'm right and you'll be way too far gone," he said, grinning. "Besides," he added, "you fucked Zane, right? I'm willing to bet you'd be begging for it." And then the smug son of a bitch winked and meandered away casually toward the door that lead to the Hufflepuff common room and kitchens.

Lily gripped her wand, beyond tempted to curse the bastard, but shook her head, going out into the grounds and sighing out a plume of frosty air, moving on instinct to the edge of the Forbidden Forest and walking along it, out of the fresh snow. She found Carmichael under a big tree not far from the Quidditch pitch. "Hi," she said, still feeling grouchy and riled up from Worthington.

Carmichael grinned. "You look pissy."

She shot him a dark look. "I am. Feel like being the target of my aggression?" she grumbled.

He pulled out a joint and sparked it up. "Sure. The last time you made me the target of your aggression was amazing." Lily rolled her eyes.

"That wasn't a fair representation of me while angry. Normally I yell and curse things."

Carmichael smirked, puffed and passed the joint. "I'm equally pleased and disappointed you don't always resort to shoving the targets of your aggression into doors and practically assaulting them then fucking them."

Lily puffed and laughed a little at that assessment. "Yeah right, Carmichael. As I recall after I shoved you into the broom closet you stopped complaining."

His hand moved to her hair, tangling at the base of her skull. "Because you got naked, babe."

"Because I was mad and horny," she countered. "And it was either you or the unthinkable."

A dark brow arched as she puffed, then shifted closer, kissing him, exhaling into his mouth. "What's the unthinkable?" he asked.

"Getting high as fuck and sleeping with the closest agreeable male." Carmichael smirked. "Including Worthington, should he happen to be said male," she added, and laughed, coughing on her second puff, handing the joint back. That had wiped the smirk off his face.

"Speak of the devil," Carmichael muttered, and Vanished the joint in the blink of an eye, and Lily looked over her shoulder, leaning against Carmichael's front, and indeed saw Worthington and the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team on the pitch. "C'mon, let's go somewhere less populated."

By the time Lily got back to her the Gryffindor common room, fried and a smidge late for curfew to boot, she spotted Matilda and Dave and the Pellard twins, the latter of the foursome both smiling huge, identical smiles. Lily headed over because the Prefect looked like she might need some saving. "Hey," she said, squeezing in beside the twins on a couch. Hope frowned at her, shoved her sister over and grudgingly made room.

"You smell, Potter," Matilda said dryly, arching a brow. Lily smirked.

"Old news," she said dismissively, then looked at Dave. "I need to ask you something. Kind of a favour I suppose." Matilda instantly glared, but Dave shrugged.

"Like what?"

Lily glanced around. "I need you to spread a rumour for me, and make sure it gets to Aaron Worthington as soon as possible."

Dave frowned and sat back in his armchair, the arm of which Matilda was sitting on. "What sort of rumour?" he asked suspiciously.

The redhead licked her lips, and leaned in, because although she was unsure how this might turn out, she was going to deal with Worthington once and for all, and maybe he'd take a hint. "The kind that says I'm an extra big slut," she said firmly, and Dave's eyes widened as Matilda's narrowed.

"Why would you want that?" she demanded. Lily sucked in a breath.

"Because I'm going to get Worthington to get his big fat nose out of my business one way or another, and if I have to play dirty I will." Matilda frowned. "I won't break any rules," she conceded. Except that she planned to rely heavily on the Marauder's Map.

"I don't get it," Dave said, sounding adorably confused.

Lily gulped. "Tell any and every guy you know I'm looking to mess around if they're cool with never getting more than a snog and fondle."

Dave looked shocked. "Lily, I don't think-"

"You don't have to," she said firmly. "You just have to spread it around. Please?"

He sighed and Matilda frowned, but at last Dave nodded. "I suppose," he said, looking uncomfortable.

Lily smiled and said reassuringly, "Don't worry, I have a plan and I can take care of myself." Neither Dave nor Matilda looked convinced.

XXX


	15. Chapter 15

**Wish Upon a Star**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational drug use, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

To Lily's surprise, word spread slowly, or maybe no one was interested. The redhead still hung out with, and occasionally hooked up with, Carmichael, so she was pretty sure everyone thought they were together, but she couldn't help but be shocked a tiny bit that almost  _no one_  had approached her to possibly hook up. And after a month, she was pretty sure Dave McEwan, the rat, just hadn't spread the rumour, because he'd been politely avoiding her ever since she'd asked him to.

"Stop brooding, you're going to get wrinkly," Carmichael teased and she rolled her eyes. It was Thursday, after class, and Lily had more homework than she wanted to think about and not enough time to do it in. Especially because she was currently lying in Carmichael's bed, her shirt off, jeans unbuttoned.

"Merlin forbid it, right?" she grumbled. "You'd want me anyway."

"Maybe," he murmured, and kissed her, Lily kissed back, hands moving with practiced ease around the back of his neck and into his hair, grasping a handful of dark hair.

"What are we doing for Valentine's?" she asked after several long, heated moments. Carmichael snorted.

"Same thing we did last Valentine's? Although maybe not unintentionally breaking up your brother and whatever bird he happens to be hooking up with," he shot back and Lily pushed his face away, sitting up and grabbing her tee. "Whoa, no need to get emotional and stomp away, Potter."

"Godric, you're such a fucking tosser, you asshole," she muttered, feeling grumpy and surly. She tugged her shirt on.

"No, you're just moody and kind of bitchy lately," he replied in that unshakably relaxed way Carmichael had. "Normally I'd say you should go get laid, but even that hasn't worked." Lily pushed a hand through her hair, leaning back again and buttoning her jeans.

"Maybe that's the problem," she grumbled. She made to get up, but Carmichael tugged her back.

"So what's the deal then?"

"Nothing," Lily said darkly.

"Bullshit. C'mon, Potter, let's hear what's got your knickers in a twist."

"Other than you?" she snapped, glaring lightly. Suddenly all the wind seemed to go out of the sails of her anger and Lily sighed, laying back down. "Where to start?" she muttered. "My parents found out I stayed at your place on break and my mum keeps owling and asking if I have a boyfriend yet, probably because she doesn't like you, no offence. I'm betting it's the lip ring, honestly. And my stupid Arithmancy homework is due Monday, and I haven't even  _started_  it. Oh, and not to mention the fact every time I walk around the castle, I hear people whispering about how horrible of a person I am for 'breaking Evan's heart' or whatever." She didn't add that she was still thoroughly pissed at Scorpius, who'd sent her a letter last week, which she still hadn't read. Lily still couldn't get over the fact he'd been closer than ever and hadn't come to see her, even just to say Happy Christmas.

Carmichael looked thoughtful for a bit. "Your mum doesn't even know me, that's awfully judgemental for the wife of The Chosen One." Lily rolled her eyes, but smiled a little. "C'mon, Potter, it's not so bad. I'll do your homework if you want, although it's going to cost you, and who cares what everyone thinks? Last year they thought you were the sluttiest thing since Miranda Moore, that witch who did Muggle porn."

"You're doing that thing where you act like you have a heart, Carmichael," she murmured, but felt a tiny bit better at that. "It's kind of sweet."

"Don't tell anyone," he murmured and a hand moved up her belly.

"Will you really do my homework?" she asked. Carmichael smiled, dimple popping.

"Really," he said, then his hand slithered up between her breasts and out the neck hole of her tee. He tapped her mouth with his forefinger. "But it will cost you."

"What?" she asked a little breathlessly.

"How about I think about it and get back to you?" the dark haired wizard murmured. Lily laughed. "But I'll give you a hint now, it will probably involve little to no clothing."

"Stop being cute and shit," she teased, and kissed him. "I should go," she breathed after the kissing lead to the removal of her shirt, again, and she'd somehow wound up astride his lap. Carmichael grunted into her neck.

"Such a fucking tease."

She groaned as he palmed her breasts, hands under her undone bra. "And don't forget it," she murmured, pushing his arms down. She sucked on his lip ring briefly, then pulled back and righted her undergarments, grabbing her shirt again. "Wanna walk me back?"

"No," he sighed. "I want you to stay here."

She smirked, then kissed him again. "I'll bet. But I have to go back to my own dorm. Homework and shit awaits."

Carmichael pushed a hand through her hair and kissed her lingeringly. "Whatever, Potter. You'll owe me when I do your little Arithmancy assignment."

"Sure," she said, and smirked. "See you, Carmichael."

"Goodnight, Potter," he said softly. She got up, pushing out of the curtains they'd drawn around his bed, and ignored the stares from the other Ravenclaw Seventh Year boys in the dorm as she exited.

She had just gotten into the relative safety of the stairs that would lead down to the Ravenclaw common room when she bumped into Hank Zipzer, Prefect, ex boyfriend, and all around prat. "Zipzer," she said with a smirk.

He scowled. "Potter," he all but spat. "Flouting the rules again, I see." She rolled her eyes.

"It's not past curfew yet, dork," she shot back. "I'm not breaking any rules. I'm at perfect liberty to visit friends in other Houses. Or have you forgotten the Handbook Rules already?"

His scowl deepened, and Lily snorted a laugh, wondering for the dozenth time what she'd  _ever_  seen in the bloody ponce. "I'm familiar with the Handbook for Student Interaction Rules and Regulations, Fully Updated Version, Potter." His eyes darted over her. "And it distinctly states that visiting an opposing gender's dorm room is for strictly  _platonic_  purposes. Somehow I doubt you and my degenerate dorm mate are even remotely platonic."

Hazel eyes rolled. "Too bad you haven't got a lick of evidence," she said, brushing past him.

"Does Carmichael know you're fucking around on him too?" Zipzer asked haughtily. Lily glanced over her shoulder at him.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard, Potter. Everyone's heard the rumour you're looking to hook up with any bloke who'll have you. Lucky for that loser," he tilted his head toward the dormitory door, obviously meaning Carmichael, "Worthington's been telling everyone it's bull."

Lily's brows lifted. "You're stupid," she said, in mingled shock and confusion. Why the hell would Worthington do that? Obviously he wanted to be Carmichael, so what was he playing at, keeping her and the Ravenclaw stoner together?

Zipzer snorted imperiously. "Says the one who can't come up with a decent insult."

The redhead shrugged. "No sense calling a kettle anything else," she snapped, and hustled down the stairs and out of Ravenclaw Tower, mind going a mile a minute.

On her way back to Gryffindor Tower, she bumped into a group of Slytherin Seventh Year boys, who were a long way from home. "Well, lookee here, lads," the apparent ringleader, a tall, dark, and detestably gorgeous Quidditch jock, Pierre Parkinson, said, grinning. "If it isn't little Puts-Out Potter."

"Nah, she only pretends," said a buff guy with a dark unibrow Lily was pretty sure had played on the Slytherin House Quidditch Team last year. She saw that he'd been made Captain this year. "Unless you're Carmichael."

"Oh yeah?" Lily said, grinning, and hooked her thumbs into the waistband of her jeans, seeing a couple dudes glance down as her pants rode down. "That's funny, I distinctly recall seeing what the inside of Slytherin bed hangings look like last year."

He blushed a bit, and Parkinson chuckled. "In case you've forgotten, I can give you a guided tour, Potter," he offered. She eyed him up, then shrugged. She hadn't been thinking about it, but now that she knew why no one had approached her about her plan to stick it to Worthington, she was rather keen to try again. And Parkinson was awfully good looking…

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Parkinson," she said at last, moving closer to the group of older boys, and lifted onto her toes, leaning against the tall, dark Slytherin's front. "Meet me at eight o'clock, tomorrow night, in the Fat Lady's corridor. Then you can audition for the role of tour guide."

His dark brows lifted. "So it's true then?" he murmured. "You'll give a fellow a good time just like that?" He sounded a little incredulous.

She grinned and kissed his cheek. "Meet me tomorrow and see," she whispered, and then moved back. "Bye." Lily turned around and sauntered toward Gryffindor Tower again, swinging her hips on purpose, and barely held her laugh in until she rounded the corner.

By the time dinner rolled around the next night, Lily was pretty sure word had sufficiently gotten out that the redheaded witch was on the prowl for her next conquest, and she was pleased to see that Worthington looked thoroughly pissed when he slumped onto the Gryffindor bench on the opposite end of the Hall from her. "Lily," Cheryl said, and the hazel eyed young woman looked at her dark haired best friend, who was sitting directly to her right. "Seriously, though, d'you  _really_ think this is the best plan?"

Lily sighed, but smiled, because she knew Cheryl meant well. "Course. I'm a big girl, I can handle the fallout. And what do I have to lose?"

The other girl sighed back, and frowned. "Well I suppose… But I don't like this. You're not a slut, no matter who says it."

Lily shrugged. "Even if I am, who cares? Lots of guys have kissed a ton of girls, and  _they're_  not sluts. Just me. So whatever, if I am, I'm okay with that." She just  _really_  didn't want her parents to find out she was kind of considered a slut. Just then, Lily spotted her cousin coming down the bench, presumably to sit with his friends right at the end, and saw Cheryl slant him a smile.

The redhead felt her brows go up when Hugo smiled back briefly, and then he was past them, moving to greet his friends. "Um, what the hell was that?" Lily whispered.

"What?" Cheryl said, blushing.

Lily's mouth dropped open. "Are you hooking up with my cousin again?" Cheryl shook her head.

"No," the dark eyed witch said softly. "We've just hung out a few times."

"Is that why you bought more shit from Carmichael?" Lily teased, and her friend shrugged.

"It's whatever. We just hang out. We're just-"

"Friends?" Lily interrupted grinning. "Like me and Carmichael are friends, or like Matilda and Dave type friends?" Cheryl frowned.

"Neither," Cheryl grumbled, folding her arms and huffing. "We're literally just friends. I thought maybe, for awhile… But it's probably not happening."

Lily sighed. "Too bad. If I know you at all, you wound up liking Hugo more than Al last year, anyway. That's why it took you forever to break it off with him."

Cheryl blushed. "Yeah, well, I fucked it up either way, so we're just friends."

Lily hugged her with one arm. "For now," she said optimistically, and Cheryl smiled a tiny bit. After dinner, Lily went up to the common room and her dorm, changed out of her uniform and into sleek black leggings and her newest Weasley Christmas sweater from her Gran. It was at least three sizes too big, but she didn't put anything under the soft, fuzzy wool, and rolled the sleeves up. She didn't even try to manage her hair, because she honestly couldn't be bothered. It wasn't like she was going on a bloody date or anything, anyway.

And when she exited the portrait hole at eight o'clock on the dot to meet up with Parkinson, Lily blushed a little, making her cheeks an attractive shade of pink when she found the tall, gorgeous young wizard leaning down the corridor, smirking.

He rested at the mouth of the alcove across from the rusty suit of armour, and as Lily approached, she couldn't help but wonder a tiny bit if she  _was_  making a mistake. "Hi," she breathed once she drew level to him.

"Hey," he said lightly, and then dipped his head, kissing her, and Lily surged up onto her toes and into the kiss, pushing them back into the alcove.

His mouth moved softly over hers, a tiny bit too passively for her taste, but as the kiss deepened, she groaned and melted a tiny bit, because he was a  _really_  good kisser. His tongue stroked the roof of her mouth and teased the underside of her own tongue, eliciting soft moans of delight, and before she knew it, his hands covered her breasts through her sweater. Parkinson broke away. "How thorough can this audition be?" he murmured, and Lily almost laughed.

"If you have to ask, it's probably not happening, sweetheart," she said, patted his cheek, and pulled back. "Thanks for the snog. You're great."

"Thank you, Potter. If I play my cards right, I might just get the bird I fancy to finally notice me."

The redhead felt the urge to help Parkinson out. "Oh yeah? Who is she, Parkinson?" He snorted.

"Yeah right, Potter."

"No, seriously," she said, striving to remain unoffended. "Who is she? You seem like a relatively decent guy, and if I can help you out, I will."

Dark brows shot up in pure shock. "For real?"

"Yeah, you're not getting anything else from me," she said flippantly, and he chuckled.

"Kasey Michaels." Lily couldn't help it and giggled a tiny bit. Parkinson scowled.

"Sorry," the redhead said, repressing the urge to giggle again. "But apparently she's popular." Parkinson didn't smile at that. "Don't worry, I'll put in a good word for you."

Lily wasn't at all surprised to find out, the next morning, that word had spread like wildfire she was officially slutting it up with any guy who asked. And while Lily didn't doubt in the slightest Parkinson had told all his buddies she'd been the epitome of easy, she was more than a tiny bit peeved that, at breakfast, three separate girls came over to tell her she was a vile human being for taking Parkinson up on his offer to make out last night.

Cheryl, who'd told the last girl to sod off because she didn't have a chance with the Slytherin Quidditch hunk anyway, lifted her brows at the redhead. "Y'know," she said lightly and Lily sighed.

"I know, I know, you told me so," Lily grumbled as they got up to go to Charms class.

"Not just that," Cheryl said. "Although I definitely said that too. I was going to say, I'm not so sure your plan is going to work, Lily." The redhead frowned.

"Why not?" she demanded. Cheryl pointed and Lily followed to where the dark haired witch indicated and frowned, because Worthington was watching her exit the Great Hall, looking equally amused and frustrated. "It's not an overnight plan," Lily said dismissively as they left the Great Hall. "It's going to take awhile, but that dolt is finally going to get it through his thick skull I don't want anything to do with him once and for all."

After Charms, where Lily finally mastered a non-verbal rendition of the  _Aguamenti_  charm, the redhead was feeling pretty pleased with herself. So when Lukas Belby from Ravenclaw stopped her for a chat after class, she paused to talk to the quiet, thoughtful young wizard. "I heard a rumour," he said, not looking at her.

"It's probably not true if it's about me," she sighed.

Belby glanced up, blue eyes sparkling. "Too bad. So you didn't let Parkinson get halfway to second base last night?" Lily blushed.

"Okay," she said, "that one might have some basis in fact. But for the record, it was a snog."

"I heard he copped more than just a feel of the inside of your mouth." Lily shrugged lightly but didn't deny it, instead looking up at the dirty blond haired wizard through her lashes.

"Maybe," she conceded. "There's only one way to find out for sure, y'know." Belby's sandy brows lifted.

"Yeah?" he murmured. The redhead nodded.

"Yup." Lily felt a flash of nerves but pushed through them. "Would you like to find out?" she purred.

Belby grinned. "Sure, Potter."

Lily set her bag down pointedly and lifted her brows, staring levelly back at Belby. He stared back, looking torn between awe and suspicion. "Well?" Lily prompted.

Belby blinked, and before Lily really knew what was happening, he'd dropped his bag too, and was kissing her. She made to pull back, because he wasn't being exactly gentle, but the Ravenclaw you moved with her, pushing his tongue forward, one hand groping her through her shirt, the other holding her face. Lily, who hadn't expected him to be nearly so forceful, made to kiss back, but then he'd pinned her against the stone work and his slightly ungraceful kiss moved to her neck. "Wow, Potter," he murmured, and kissed her again, apparently too caught up to realize she wasn't precisely enjoying the experience. Lily pushed him back roughly, and Belby grinned breathlessly. "So I guess it was true. Huh."

The redheaded witch frowned a little. "Just a word of advice, most girls want to be kissed, not mauled, Belby. Including me. So you're welcome, but just so you know you've set a bad rap for the blokes of Ravenclaw."

The sandy haired youth chuckled. "Good thing there's Carmichael, right?"

Lily swung her bag up up on her shoulder once more. "So far the only Ravenclaw worth kissing twice," she said. Belby laughed again, and Lily added nastily, "And for the record, you're actually the worst of the lot. For every House."

By the time Lily got outside for break, and found Cheryl and the twins, word was already spreading. Lily Potter was, at least unofficially, the sluttiest thing since Mindy Irwin, who had flashed her tits to most of the males in their year before last summer. "Please tell me Steven Bradshaw is full of it and you didn't let Belby get his hands up your skirt," Faith said without preamble.

"Bradshaw's full of it," Lily confirmed. "Belby's hands weren't under  _any_  of my clothes," she added firmly.

Hope's mouth dropped open. "Oh Merlin, you didn't snog him, did you?" she hissed.

Her twin rolled blue eyes, even as Cheryl cast Lily the 'I told you, bitch' look. "So what?" Lily asked with a shrug. "It's a free country," she added a tad defensively.

"How was it?" Hope asked. Faith rolled her eyes again.

"Ew, Lily, no offence, but you can do so much better." Lily snorted at Faith's assessment.

"It was awful," she admitted baldly, and Faith and Cheryl giggled. "Seriously, Belby's like way too into it without bothering to care if whoever he's kissing is enjoying herself," she said, mouth turning down. Although she supposed she couldn't expect every boy to be a good kisser.

"Savage!" Cheryl said gleefully. "Oh Merlin, that sucks, Potter."

Lily shrugged. "You should ask that guy from the Quidditch team to snog next," Faith advised, and Lily scowled. "Ew, not Worthington, the other one."

"Oh, you mean Hugo's friend, Stuart?" Cheryl asked. Hope sighed dreamily at mention of the Gryffindor Sixth Year.

"No," Faith said firmly, obviously aware her sister coveted that boy already. "Williams."

Lily burst out laughing. "Yeah right," she said. "My brother and Scorpius beat him up once. He probably hates me." Lily had heard about how her brother and the pureblood had gotten into a fist fight with Williams when the Gryffindor was in Third Year, and had just made the House Quidditch team.

Faith shrugged. "Not according to Alfonso."

The other three girls rolled their eyes, but Lily was still curious, even if Faith parroted everything her secret boyfriend told her concerning the best and juiciest gossip to the point of almost being annoying. "Oh yeah?" she asked, even as the bell rang to end break.

"Apparently, once Williams heard you might be looking for a possible hookup, he mentioned he might give it a go."

The redhead pulled a thoughtful face, mulling it over as she went down to Potions. And she couldn't help but think, even as she put in a half-hearted attempt at brewing an antidote for her Giggling Elixir, that might be the biggest slap in Worthington's face. Not only someone from his year, but also his House, and Quidditch Team, and hell, even his dorm. And Lily didn't find Clay Williams at all bad looking, but after Belby, she was just hoping if she made herself available, she wouldn't be let down by sub par kissing.

At the end of the period, she'd decided she could definitely at least see if Williams was game, and if worse came to worse, she could always just tell everyone he was an awful kisser. But Lily vowed she'd make Worthington get the point, no matter how persistent or thick he was. And to her complete shock, Williams was almost better than even Scorpius had been.

Because when she met up with him not far from the Library in a secluded alcove that was a hotspot for steamy makeouts before, and sometimes after, curfews, Lily was expecting the worst. But when he turned the corner and grinned in a speculative kind of way, the redhead felt a hot jolt of primal attraction. And he was a  _great_ kisser, and Lily knew if he'd wanted, she'd have probably been embarrassingly easy to persuade to go all the way. Until, after a few minutes, he pulled back.

"You're good, but I'm not feeling it," he admitted after several moments, and Lily laughed, because that was a kicker. She'd at last found someone who made her instincts fire up in the best way possible, like the blond pureblood had, and he felt a fat lot of nothing.

"That sucks," she sighed. Williams shrugged, moving away from her.

"Sorry, Potter."

"It's fine. I'll move on I'm sure," Lily said brightly, and then Williams frowned.

"Can I ask a personal question, Potter?" he mumbled, even as they walked back to Gryffindor Tower quite platonically. Lily snorted.

"You can ask, but you might not like my answer, depending on the question," she replied.

"Why are you suddenly slutting it up, snogging any bloke who happens to ask?"

The redhead frowned, because that was an awfully personal question. "Because I can," she said defiantly, and glared a little. "And how come when a girl happens to snog a bunch of dudes, she's a slut, but all the guys who do the same, or actually sleep around, they're just players?"

Williams's brows lifted and Lily smiled grimly. "You may have a slight point there, Potter." Lily smirked. "But I bet it's 'cause most guys don't care who they hook up with, so long as they can get their dick wet." The redhead pulled a face at the vulgarity. "I guess most just expect girls to have higher standards."

Lily didn't know if that was a veiled insult, but rolled her eyes. "Well it's still a double standard," she said. Williams shrugged.

"True enough. But that doesn't mean you can change it single handedly, Potter."

Lily smirked. "Duly noted, Williams, even if you're wrong."

XXX


	16. Chapter 16

**Wish Upon a Star**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational drug use, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

It was the last day of term before Easter break, and although Lily was glad for the break from classes, she was feeling decidedly bummed, because she'd be going home for break, to hang out with her parents and be bored to tears for a week, essentially grounded. And in her last letter, the redhead's mother had hinted Albus and Scorpius would be present at the Burrow for Easter dinner.

She tossed her bag down and flopped into her favourite ratty armchair in the common room, sighing massively. "You sound tortured," Cheryl said sarcastically, frowning. Lily smirked.

"How was I supposed to know my mum would rat Hugo out for having a secret girlfriend?" Lily asked for the hundredth time since she'd written her mother, who'd rudely asked if she was still 'having a beneficial friendship' with Carmichael. Lily had simply responded she was, and it wasn't even a big deal, because Hugo was doing the same thing. And apparently Ginny Potter had told Hermione Granger-Weasley, who had sent poor Hugo a Howler.

"It's your mum!" Cheryl grumbled. Because Hugo had pretty much told her either she came to Easter at the Burrow and met his entire, horrible extended family, including his formidable mother and grandmother, or they'd have to break things off. "Bloody hell, this is gonna be awful," Cheryl groaned, but Lily saw her face soften when she looked over at Hugo, who glanced back at her, grinning.

Hazel eyes rolled when her dark haired friend blushed, smiling back. "Ew, I'm drowning in all the sappiness, Cheryl," she sighed. The other witch gave her the finger. Lily was  _not_  looking forward to possibly seeing Scorpius, but she couldn't help but think about when the tall blond pureblood had smiled at her with that secret knowledge of shared affection. She'd probably looked ten times goofier than Cheryl.

"Anyway, back to the matter at hand, which was me, seriously, you're going to help me remember all your stupid relatives, right?"

Lily giggled, because Cheryl was almost as nervous now as she'd been before their Transfiguration OWL. "Sure. It's easy. Hugo has five uncles and four aunts. Bill, who married Fleur, Charlie, Percy, who's married to Penelope, George and Angelina, and my mum and dad. And those lot had Victoire, Dominique, Molly, Lucy, Fred, Louis, Roxanne, James, Al, Rose, Hugo, and me. And then Victoire married Teddy Lupin. And I'm sure Fred will bring his girlfriend, Sarah, and Molly will bring her fiance Sean. And James is probably bringing whatever bird he's with, but that's not important."

Cheryl merely blinked. "That's like...a lot of people."

Lily laughed. "Yup. Don't worry, if Hugo ditches you like a prat, I'll be there." She sighed, because it would be the only outing of her whole break.

"Thanks," Cheryl breathed.

"Besides," Lily said lightly, "the only relative you have to worry about is my Aunt Hermione, Hugo's mum. She can be a bit scary sometimes." Cheryl paled and gulped, but Lily laughed. "Kidding. You'll be fine, Graves."

The dark haired witch frowned. "Fuck you, Potter."

Lily got up. "You're not my type," she shot back, and dug in her bag. Cheryl rolled her eyes now.

"Going to find your fuck buddy?" she teased. Lily stuck her tongue out.

"No, I'm going to look for him first," she murmured, pulled the Marauder's Map from her bag and stuffed it into her pocket. "See you later."

"You're supposed to help me!" Cheryl hissed. Lily laughed.

"Should've taken notes," she said archly, and laughed when Cheryl flipped her off again. She found Carmichael easily, just inside the Forbidden Forest on the far side of the Quidditch pitch, when she glanced at the Map in an alcove down the hall from the Fat Lady's corridor. And then, to her shock, she saw another name labelled beside Carmichael that she'd never, ever, suspected to see within a hundred feet of the Ravenclaw Seventh Year.

She hustled down to the pitch as fast as her legs could carry her, but when she finally crept up on Carmichael, he was alone again, and sparking up a fat blunt with the tip of his wand. "Hey," she said lightly, approaching across the smooth, green, and slightly soggy pitch. It was still raining, like it had been for the last month or so, and Lily felt her hair sticking to her damp cheeks.

"Hi," he said, grinning, and exhaled, taking another drag off his blunt, and then offered it. Lily took it. "What's with the face?" Carmichael asked.

"What face?" Lily puffed and moved under the cover of the trees properly.

"The confused face." She shrugged, even as he took a little flask of liquor from his pocket and uncapped it.

Lily puffed off the blunt again, and handed it back. "Why was MacDougall talking to you?" she asked, looking at him closely, trying to judge his reaction. His dark brows lifted a tiny bit.

"Spying, Potter?" he asked, chuckling.

She frowned a tiny bit, but then he offered the flask. The redhead took a sniff, grimaced at the strong scent of alcohol, and took a tiny pull, coughing and choking as it burned all the way down. "Ugh, that shit's awful," she coughed.

"It's moonshine, of course it is," he said, chuckling, taking another swig and then putting it back in his pocket.

"So why were you talking to MacDougall?" Lily demanded, feeling stoned beyond measure after a third toke off his blunt. Carmichael's hands slid around her waist.

"I wasn't talking," he said softly, and pulled her closer, and when his mouth met hers, Lily exhaled her hit into his mouth. "I was listening."

"To what?" Lily asked with squinty eyes and a furrowed brow. He plucked the blunt from her fingers, smirking, and she flicked his lip ring with her tongue, giggling.

"A warning," Carmichael replied easily and her brows lifted.

"A warning about what?" she asked. Carmichael grinned.

"Five guesses, babe," he murmured, and kissed her neck teasingly. "About you, obviously." Lily pulled back, feeling affronted by that.

"What the fuck?" she snapped. "Who the fuck is MacDougall to warn you about me? What did he say!?"

Carmichael burst out laughing, making Lily more nettled, and her brows pulled together. "Merlin, Potter, you're pretty dumb," he chuckled. She snatched the blunt and pulled hard on it, shoving Carmichael lightly. "Not about you like that."

Lily frowned. "What are you saying?" she grumbled.

"I'm saying your ex came to warn me not to mess you around." His mouth quirked up, dimple popping out. "Turns out Worthington's decided since you're not going to slut it up with him, and obviously I don't much care who you're slutting it up with," she smacked him at that, "he's changing tactics. So now word is I'm messing about on you."

Lily snorted, then kissed Carmichael, pushing her tongue into his mouth, enjoying his possessive grip on her right hip. "Are you?" she asked between hot kisses.

"Not at the moment," he said. She laughed against his mouth, and dark eyes rolled. He moved her hand around so he could hit the blunt she still held. "There was that one time with Jess Marsden in the broom closet, but she owed me money."

Lily's brows lifted, eyes struggling to widen in shock. "What?" she snapped.

Carmichael smirked. "Relax, babe," he teased, tugging a hank of her hair. "It was five minutes of making out and a blowjob. You're not about to be replaced." She scoffed and smacked him again, but Carmichael laughed.

"You tosser, you're fucking depraved."

He pulled out his flask again and took another swig. "Probably. But I figured if you were getting felt up all over the castle, I should collect on my debts." Lily rolled her eyes, toked off the blunt, and shuddered past another swallow of awful moonshine. "So you wanna hang out over break?" Carmichael asked after finally outing the blunt. Lily pulled a face, then kissed him.

"Unlikely, Carmichael. My parents aren't gonna let me out, guaranteed."

He chuckled. "Then invite me over." She laughed.

"That's even less likely to happen." He kissed her lingeringly, then his hands slid up under her shirt and bra, fondling her breasts.

"So tell your parents you're going somewhere else," he rumbled, and she groaned, arching against him.

"I'll be dead if I get caught," she sighed. Carmichael chuckled. "And I'm pretty sure even if I was going somewhere that wasn't your place, it would still be a no."

Carmichael nipped her neck, and then her lower lip and she moaned as he tugged her nipples in the way she liked best. "Ask anyway."

"Okay," she murmured, and then kissed him thoroughly, melting up against him as they snogged and got halfway to getting it on, his hands under her skirt, her fingers undoing his belt, before the Quidditch stadium lights came up and the Ravenclaw team came out and started practice in the chilly evening for their upcoming game. By the time Lily got back to her dorm, she was tipsy and very stoned, and wanted to curl up in bed. Instead, when she opened the dormitory door, it was to find her cousin Hugo, and Cheryl exiting the bathroom, both flushed and with damp hair. "Ew," she giggled.

Hugo frowned at her as Cheryl rolled her eyes. "I'm gonna go," Hugo said quietly to Cheryl, and Lily pointedly dug through her night stand drawer for sweets, trying to make as much noise as possible as her cousin and friend had a thoroughly nonverbal goodbye.

"See you," Cheryl said dreamily, and then Hugo slipped out the window on his broom. "Thanks for interrupting, slut," Cheryl teased, moving to sit on Lily's bed, nicking a Chocolate Frog.

"Sorry," Lily said blandly, because she wasn't sorry at all. If she had to deal with awkward stares when visiting Carmichael, Hugo could deal with her being in her own bloody dorm after shagging her friend in the bathroom. "You two didn't defile the shower, did you? I wanted to take one."

Lily laughed as Cheryl blushed and glared, dodging a Chocolate Cauldron that was aimed at her face, and then the Pellard twins came in, arguing up a storm. "I don't care, Faith, I'm not doing it!" Hope snapped.

Her twin glared. "You're such a baby," she said viciously. "Godric, I never ask you for anything, the least you can do is help me out."

Hope glared back. "You ask me for shit all the time, I'm just not stupid enough to lie to Mum and Dad for you."

"I did it for you!" Faith snapped.

Hope blushed, and Cheryl piped up, asking the question that was on Lily's mind too. "What are you two bickering about now?"

"This bitch won't cover for me to see Alfonso over break!" Faith snapped. Hope pursed her mouth, going to her bed. "Even though I did it for her so she could see her boyfriend over Christmas!"

"Ex-boyfriend now," Hope grouched. "And just because you did, doesn't mean I have to!"

Lily frowned. "C'mon, Hope, why not?"

Hope shucked her cardigan. "Because she's a bitch," Faith shot back.

"I am not. Bad enough I covered for you over the summer,  _and_  got grounded for lying when Charity sold you out," she snapped.

Faith rolled her blue eyes. "Whatever. Don't talk to me," she snapped, and stomped to the bathroom. Hope shot her sister a dirty look through the bathroom door.

"I don't know why she's so pissy," Hope muttered mutinously. "I told her after she covered for me at Christmas she couldn't use it against me later."

"Is she going to go meet his whole entire extended family?" Cheryl asked. Hope shot her a surprised look.

"Not that I know of. I figured she was going to sneak in and sleep over." She shrugged.

"Then you're right, that bitch doesn't have shit to complain about," Cheryl said, and bit the head off her second stolen Chocolate Frog. Lily laughed.

"Do your parents know about her and Bonifacio?" the redhead asked.

"No," Hope said. "Mum and Dad think we're 'too young' for serious physical relationships," she said, and rolled her eyes. "Like, c'mon, we're not twelve."

"Or virgins," Cheryl muttered, and Hope snorted.

"Yeah, Faith ain't got shit to complain about," Lily said, and grinned.

Hope shot Lily a surprised look. "Wait, your parents knew about Evan?" she asked.

Lily snorted as Cheryl burst out laughing. "No," she sighed. "But my stupid brother ratted me out when I went to see Carmichael at Christmas, told my mum and dad Carmichael wasn't a girl, like they assumed."

"Speaking of Carmichael, can he hook me up tomorrow on the train?" Cheryl asked.

Lily giggled a little. "Probably, just do me a favour and never owe him money," she said, and laughed some more.

"And you're still alive to tell the tale?" Hope asked curiously. "Somehow, no offence, I can't see your parents being cool with that."

Lily shrugged, and ate a Chocolate Cauldron. "They're not. At least, not with me going there on break. I mean, I dunno if my dad like, knows exactly what Carmichael and I have, but Mum isn't pleased. She keeps telling me in her letters to 'find a nice boy' to date." Hope laughed, and Cheryl joined in. Lily shot the dark haired witch a dark look. "You don't get to laugh," she said. Hope glanced at Cheryl now.

"Why?" the blonde asked.

Cheryl pouted and Lily grinned. "She's coming to Easter dinner at my Gran and Grandad's place, with all of my Weasley relatives."

Hope's blue eyes went wide. "Why?" she demanded, looking at Cheryl.

"None of your business," Cheryl snapped. Lily rolled her eyes.

"C'mon, Cheryl, everyone's going to know at some point. And you guys are obviously like mad about each other," Lily goaded. Hope's mouth fell open, eyes looking on the verge of popping right out they were so wide.

"Holy fucking Hell, you're hooking up with Hugo again, aren't you?" Hope demanded.

Cheryl shot Lily a dark look, but the redhead merely smiled. "I hate you."

Lily laughed at her friend, tossing another Chocolate Frog her way. "You love me. Who else would agree to help you out when it'd be so much more fun to watch you freak?"

Hope looked thoughtful. "Maybe I'll cover for Faith after all. Even being grounded can't be worse than meeting Hermione bloody Granger when she's your boyfriend's mum."

Cheryl sighed, and Faith came out of the bathroom on a cloud of steam. "You're welcome," she said to the blonde witch, who looked confused, and Lily got up to claim the bathroom, laughing.

The train ride into King's Cross was mostly uneventful. Lily sat with her dorm mates and chatted, got gossiped about when she went for a wander down the train to find Carmichael and act as middle witch for Cheryl. And, because she was fairly positive she wouldn't see him until the train ride back to school, when Carmichael asked if she wanted to fuck, Lily said yes.

His brows lifted and she grinned, kissing him roughly. "Surprised?" she breathed and then groaned as he undid her bra.

"Very," the dark haired Ravenclaw admitted. She slipped a hand down the front of his pants, stroking him teasingly and wrenching out a grunt. "Fuck, babe, you never say yes unless we're in my dorm."

Lily groaned again when he tangled a hand in her hair and tugged her head back, nipping her neck. "I figured you're going to be going spare after a week, so I might as well give you a quickie for the road."

He pulled back a little, looking at her in the dim little storage closet. "A pity fuck?" he drawled, and she couldn't tell if he was offended or not. "Really?"

"You bet, Carmichael," she said and lifted her brows. "You turning me down?"

He flattened her to the wall, and lifted one of her thighs around him, her skirt riding up and he pinned her pelvis with his own. "Not today, Potter." She grinned, and moaned when he pulled her hair again. "But I think I might be a bad influence on you, babe."

She muffled a moan into his mouth and pushed a greedy hand through his hair as they snogged and he divested them of only the necessary clothing. "We crossed that bridge ages ago, Carmichael," she gasped and then quickly performed a Contraceptive Charm on herself. Carmichael kissed her, teasing between her legs with his fingers, and she moaned when something altogether more significant pressed into her.

"Pretty smart, babe," he grunted, and then she was gripping his shoulders for dear life as he sheathed himself in her abruptly. Lily moaned, wondering how she herself was going to last an entire week without Carmichael. Because depraved tosser he might be, but she really couldn't complain when he put those skills to work on her. When they at last pulled into the station, it was coming on dinner time, and Lily was feeling thoroughly bummed for the next week of boredom. "See you, Potter," Carmichael said as she lugged her trunk down the corridor, and she grinned.

"Maybe," she said, and exited the train behind him, moving out of the way as she scanned the crowd for her parents.

"Shit, I almost forgot," Carmichael mumbled beside her, and reached for her hand. She turned her head to tell him to sod off, because she didn't really want the awkwardness of having her mother appear and meet Carmichael properly, but then his mouth brushed hers suggestively, and he pushed something into her bra. "If I don't see you, Happy Easter, Potter."

She was about to ask if he'd just given her something illegal, but then Lily spotted her father and mother, the former smiling, the latter sending Carmichael a distinctly frosty look. "Thanks, bye," she said, and dragged her trunk over toward her parents. "Hi Mum, hi Dad," she said, and hugged them both in turn. Her father hugged her tight, obviously oblivious to her friend's identity, but her mother's hug was a little stiff.

"Hi honey," Ginny said. "Harry, can you get her trunk?" she said, and Harry quickly Levitated it up until they crossed into Muggle King's Cross, where he dragged it respectably. And in the crowd, Ginny managed to move just behind her husband, still holding Lily's arm. "Please tell me you've come to your senses about that boy, honey," she murmured.

The younger redheaded witch rolled her eyes. "Yeah Mum," she said repressively.

Ginny frowned. "Really, honey, you're so very pretty, you could do so much better than-"

"Okay, Mum," Lily cut in firmly, praying her mother would just leave it alone. She felt whatever Carmichael had stuffed in her bra all but burning her consciousness.

"I'm just saying, Lily, you don't want to have anyone hold you back, right?" her mother whispered, and then Harry turned around.

"What are you two whispering about?" he asked curiously, and Lily grimaced.

"Nothing, Dad," she said firmly. "Are we driving back?"

Ginny sniffed. "Lily, you can't Apparate yet." Lily sighed, because she'd been doing just as poorly at the Apparition practices that had started after Christmas as her nonverbal spells.

"I know," she grumbled, folding her arms as they headed out of the station into a rainy London. She managed, in the bustle of loading her trunk, to remove her Easter gift from her bra, and frowned at the two little diamond shaped pills tightly wrapped in plastic.

The redhead waited until breakfast the next morning to pitch the idea of possibly going out while on break. "So, Dad," she said, looking directly at her father across the little breakfast table in the Potter's kitchen, "I was wondering if I would be allowed go visit Cheryl today, and maybe sleep over until tomorrow. Would that be okay?"

Harry frowned. "Cheryl Graves?" he said, and Lily nodded.

Ginny looked up from the sports section of the paper suspiciously. "Are her parents going to be home?" Ginny asked automatically. Lily forced a smile.

"As far as I know."

"And you promise to be home early tomorrow?" Harry pushed. Lily pouted a tiny bit, flashing her father the disappointed little girl eyes. "Noon at least?"

"Sure, Dad," she said. Ginny still looked suspicious.

"We'll talk about it and let you know," the elder redheaded witch said, and gave her husband a significant look. Lily knew that would wind up being a no if her parents could 'talk about it'.

"Well I was going to go early because Cheryl's nervous about meeting Aunt Hermione, what with dating Hugo and all." Lily didn't want to have to go there, but she had to make her parents agree without her mother spilling about her true friendship with Carmichael to her Dad. Because if that happened, she'd probably never leave the house until next year. "And she's made me help her memorize everyone's names, probably to impress Hugo, and she's complete bollocks at remembering names."

Harry sent Ginny a promising look. Lily held her breath as Ginny sighed. "You'll be home at noon tomorrow," she said firmly, and Lily jumped up, hugging her mother impulsively, letting out her breath in a laugh.

"You bet, Mum." She hugged her Dad and said, "Um, I'm going to pack and then Floo to Cheryl's," she said brightly.

The redhead bounded out of the kitchen and up the stairs, hustling to get ready, knowing if her parents decided to Floo call Cheryl's parents she'd undoubtedly get caught in a lie. Her plan was to get gone before her parents could stop her. She could handle the consequences later.

Lily packed a bag with clean underwear, her toothbrush, a change of clothes, and her makeup bag, grabbed her wand, and went into the library to Floo out. "Bye!" she hollered as she went to the fireplace, and reached for a handful of Floo powder from the little ceramic jar atop the mantle.

But then her Dad said, "Hold on, Lily." The redhead wanted to stomp her foot, but turned, smiling brightly.

"What's up, Dad?"

"Are you sure you're not going to you friend Carmichael's place?" he said, looking grim. The redhead licked her lips.

"Positive," she said lightly, and furrowed her brow. "I'm not allowed to do that, am I?"

"Definitely not," Harry confirmed. Lily nodded. "So?"

"So?" Lily repeated, shifting her bag on her shoulder.

"Are you going to Cheryl's?"

"Yeah," Lily said, and held up her handful of Floo powder. "Right this second."

"Okay," Harry said. "Have fun." He folded his arms expectantly. Lily frowned.

"Are you going to watch me go, really?" she asked. "You don't trust me?"

Harry pulled grim expression. "Your mother thinks you're trying to pull a fast one."

The redhead held back a sigh. "Well I'm disappointed by that," she said imperiously, then threw her handful of Floo powder into the grate. It burst into green flames. "Cheryl's house!" Lily said quickly, then stepped in and Flooed out, feeling guilty. She was grateful when she stepped out of Cheryl's parents' fireplace in their living room that they weren't home. She quickly nicked a new handful of glittering Floo powder, and went to Carmichael's instead, and told herself it was too late to feel guilty.

She stepped into his living room and it was empty. And she felt distinctly like an intruder when she stepped out of the fireplace and into the house. Lily was pretty sure Carmichael would be asleep, and, feeling distinctly out of place, went upstairs. Everything seemed oddly quiet, and although Lily tried to be silent, she couldn't help but make noise. She pushed open Carmichael's bedroom door, and there he was, passed out in his bed in pyjama pants but no shirt, blissfully asleep still. Lily couldn't help but smile a tiny bit, because he looked so deceptively innocent while sleeping. She didn't think she had real feelings for him, but when she saw him, the rare time, vulnerable, it was almost enough to make her wonder.

She dropped her bag, stripped her sweater and jeans, and climbed into bed with him, snuggling up against his sleeping form. He was warm, and smelled good, and she sighed contentedly. Lily realized she must've dozed off when she opened her eyes and Carmichael had rolled them so he was atop her, and was kissing his way down her neck.

"Good morning," he murmured, and nipped suggestively at her pulse point. "You surprised me."

"I'm good like that," she mumbled, and smiled. "I have to owl my friend Cheryl." She didn't want her friend to accidentally screw her over.

Carmichael pulled back, frowning the tiniest bit, and Lily pulled his face down to kiss him, suckling his lip ring. "Why?" he asked when she broke away again.

The redhead sighed. "I lied to my parents," she mumbled, and Carmichael smirked.

"Wow, Potter. I thought lying was against the Gryffindor code. And to your parents too…? Tsk, tsk." She shoved him off of her, looking at her watch. It was almost half past eleven.

"You've got just over twenty four hours of me, Carmichael," she said, looking at him, stretched out in bed, over her shoulder. "Do you really feel like being celibate for it?"

"No," he murmured, and sat up, kissing her soundly. "I prefer when you're begging and moaning for it, babe." She blushed, but then he began easing her panties off, and she slowly found the urge to strike him replaced by the urge to touch him, everywhere, and lots. After they got naked, Lily found it even harder to stop touching him. Her hands roved greedily over his shoulders, down his chest and stomach, around his hips, and finally, as he pushed into her, around to his ass, squeezing as she moaned. "Fuck, Potter, watch the claws," Carmichael groaned, pulled out and sheathed himself again, hard, making her huff out another moan.

Lily turned her face into his neck and bit him instead as he thrust into her again, setting a deep, hard, but not nearly fast enough pace. "Better?" she growled, lips brushing the shell of his ear, and she moaned again as his thrusts came a tiny bit faster.

"Barely," he grunted, and she grinned, dug her heels in, and lifted her hips to meet his thrusts, trying to get more, wrapping her arms around his neck. In the next breath, the redhead was pinned to the mattress and Carmichael smirked, buried in her, and eased out unbearably, slow, then slid even slower back in. Lily couldn't help but writhe and moan like a total slut, not wanting to beg for it, but seriously considering it as he eased out excruciatingly slow again. She moaned again, but it was a high pitched almost whimper. And Lily almost cried with relief when he slammed back in, moaning loud and long, losing herself in bliss as Carmichael fucked her fast and furiously. "Better?" he rumbled.

"A thousand times better!" she moaned. "Fuck, yes, yes,  _yes, YES_!" After Lily came back to reality, they lay, sweaty and panting together, both trying to control their thudding hearts and uneven breathing. Carmichael grinned lazily at her and she poked his dimple gently.

"Did you really lie to your parents to come visit me?" he murmured after several minutes of companionable silence. At last the dark haired Ravenclaw sat up to roll a joint.

"Yeah," Lily said softly, feeling a jolt of guilt. Her parents probably thought she was safely being good at Cheryl's. Or, she reckoned, they'd found out she wasn't at Cheryl's and were plotting how best to punish her upon her return. Either way, she'd done it already, and she pushed her guilty conscience aside. "Because I'm just the best like that," she added, and rolled over, grabbing her tee again.

"Or just that slutty," he teased, and she laughed, then slid back into her panties.

"Screw you, Carmichael, I'm not as slutty as you wish I was."

Dark eyes rolled and he sparked up his joint. "Touche." He puffed and passed it to her. "So did you bring your Easter present?" he asked. Lily frowned, because she had, to give the damn things back. She couldn't just go rolling while stuck at home with her parents!

"Yeah," she said again after toking, but frowned this time. "That was a prick move, ass hat. What if my parents found that shit?"

Carmichael chuckled. "You're paranoid, Potter." She blew smoke at his face and he laughed, waving it away easily with his wand. "But I'm glad you brought them." She frowned. "You gotta come rolling with me, babe."

"Unlikely," she said, rolling hazel eyes, and passed the joint back. "I have to owl Cheryl for serious though."

Carmichael rolled his eyes as she scrawled out a note to Cheryl and posted it with the dark haired wizard's surly, sleepy owl, after poking the poor bird awake. "Seriously, Potter," Carmichael said as she climbed back into his bed for one last puff off the joint, "just come rolling. It'll be fun."

Lily pursed her mouth, because she didn't really want to just waste the whole day being high off her face, but, she reckoned, she would probably just wind up smoking anyway, and that wasn't much different. "No thanks," she said lightly.

Carmichael smiled, leaning in and kissing her neck suggestively. "Why not?" he pushed.

The redheaded witch bit her lip and shrugged, then pushed a hand through her hair. "I'm just going to be fucked up all day if I do that," she murmured.

Carmichael grinned wide. "Why is that so bad?" he teased. Lily didn't know. She didn't precisely mind being high on more than a joint or two, but she didn't know what could happen here, outside school, if she was that stoned. "It won't even last all day," he murmured. "And you only live once, y'know. Might as well have fun while you can."

"You're applying peer pressure," she said, but smirked a little, feeling stoned and mellow after the great sex and joint.

"Is it working?"

Lily pushed his bangs up, looking at his dark eyes searchingly, but they gave nothing away. So she nipped at his lip ring instead. "Maybe. But if I say yes, you have to promise to take care of me and shit."

Carmichael grinned, looking beyond sexy and utterly and completely like the bad influence her mother was convinced he was. "I promise. If you say yes."

Hazel eyes rolled again, but the redhead smiled. "Fine, then. Yes, I'll get fucked off my face with you, you bloody wanker."

The dark haired wizard chuckled, then kissed her. "You already got fucked off your face  _by_  me, after all."

XXX


	17. Chapter 17

**Wish Upon a Star**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER:**  This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational drug use, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Lily shoved Carmichael, because he was an idiot, but took one of the little diamond shaped pills he'd stuffed in her bra with him, and they got dressed so they could go get lunch. She felt a tiny trickle of amusement as Carmichael didn't reach for her hand, but as they left his little neighbourhood and got into a busy, highly populated Muggle area of wherever he lived, he slung a casual arm around her shoulders. "Where are we?" Lily asked, looking around with interest as she felt a hot blast of arousal. When she met Carmichael's eyes as they waited at a street corner for a light to change, she noticed his pupils were huge, making his eyes impossibly dark.

"We're going to get breakfast, and then we're gonna swing by my buddy's place."

Lily giggled a little, biting her lip as they crossed the road, looking around with interest as her body started to feel warm and loose, and she felt a distinct fuzziness buzzing through her body. "I'm kind of feeling it," she breathed as they stood in a line at some restaurant place twenty minutes later.

"Only kind of?" he asked, and traced the neckline of her shirt. Lily felt liquid arousal pooling between her legs, and groaned ever so slightly, barely audibly, in the back of her throat, and didn't resist when he turned her into himself.

"Maybe more than kind of," she whispered, and giggled. The woman behind them in line made a face of distaste, but Lily merely smirked. Carmichael ordered them food and they sat to eat greasy burgers and chips and drink soda pop. Lily couldn't finish her drink, because the bubbles were tripping her out way too much, for which Carmichael made fun of her, and by the time they'd finished their food and were heading to Carmichael's friend's place, Lily felt more stoned than she could've imagined. Her body felt warm and uninhibited, the brush of her clothes across her sensitized flesh making her far too aware of every erogenous zone, and she had all but forgotten entirely that she was the world's worst daughter.

"Here we are," Carmichael said at last, and Lily followed him into a relatively average, if a little dingy, apartment building. They went up to the third floor and Carmichael knocked on the door to number three sixteen. Lily moved closer to him instinctively when the door opened, and a guy who looked to be somewhere in his early twenties with heavy lidded brown eyes and very long, blond dreadlocks tied behind his head.

"Sup friends," he said pleasantly. "What can I do you for?"

"Chaz, I'm here to see Leo," Carmichael said, rolling his eyes, and followed the guy into the apartment, which Lily thought was a tiny bit rude, but she followed anyway, down a hallway toward a living room, where a guy who also looked mid twenties, sat on a couch. There was a very pretty girl either side of him, and a third guy, who looked ominously grim, in an armchair. Lily felt a tiny bit sketched out.

The guy on the sofa sat forward, smiling, and Lily noticed he had the same dimple when he smiled that Carmichael did. "Well well well, if it isn't my favourite cousin."

Lily's eyes slanted sideways to observe Carmichael's reaction, but he merely shrugged. "I'm your only cousin, Leo," he replied.

"Fuck off, smartass," the guy said, sitting back. Carmichael sat on the slightly smaller couch and Lily sat beside him. "Who's the bird?"

"A friend of mine," Carmichael replied easily, and his cousin chuckled.

"Your friend got a name, Horace?" he teased.

"I'm Lily," the redhead said with a smile, because she'd never been so fucking high while meeting someone.

"Lemme guess, you came to re up?"

Carmichael pulled some Muggle money from his pocket. "And hang out." Leo shrugged, then slung an arm around the girl to his right.

"Sure. I got business later, but my flat's your flat, buddy."

"Mi casa es tu casa," the blond dreads guy said, and giggled to himself, picking up some kind of video game controller and staring vacantly at a screen while he pushed buttons.

"You like to party, friend?" Leo asked Lily, and she shrugged.

"I guess. With you specifically? No thanks, I'm not really interested." Carmichael slung an arm around her shoulders and Leo chuckled.

"Where'd you find her, Horace?" he asked, picking up the blunt that had been burning in the ashtray and taking a long drag. He passed it to the girl on his right and she puffed, then handed it back.

"School," he said simply, and Leo lifted his dark eyebrows. The girl to his left shot Lily a filthy look and she smiled vaguely, her body buzzing, brain foggy with euphoria. "And don't even ask," he added, leaning across to take the offered blunt. "It's a no."

Leo chuckled again and Lily sucked in a deep breath when Carmichael's hand slid up her leg. "Too bad," Leo murmured, then pulled his girl to the right closer, whispering something into her ear. She grinned and got up, going into another room. "Get my shit," he said to the other one, who got up as well. "Chaz, you lazy tosser, go find my Hawaiian Pineapple shit."

Chaz smiled vaguely. "Premium bud," he said pleasantly, and dropped the controller. "All of it?"

"Yeah," Leo said, and picked up the Muggle bills on the coffee table. Lily privately thought this was all quite suspicious, but in her altered state, she found it pretty funny. Chaz came back with a very large plastic bag full of marijuana and the left side girl came back with a funny looking silvery box thing and a couple more, smaller, plastic bags. "Go to the store," he told the girl, who shot Lily another dirty look. "Keep the change bitch," he said, chuckling a little as he handed her some money. She snatched it up and headed out. "Mason, go with her, and make sure she doesn't try to stiff me," he added to the ominous guy, who followed the girl out wordlessly.

Lily toked off the blunt when Carmichael passed it to her, feeling way too stoned and she was partly afraid she might never get off the couch again. "So how's school anyway?" Leo asked, smirking. "Getting your education and shit?" he teased.

Carmichael shrugged, and Lily wondered how he was so very relaxed around Muggles. She was paranoid something would slip out, or she'd accidentally use magic, and then the Accidental Magical Reversal Squad would show up and start Obliviating the crap out of people. And of course, then her parents would find out she'd snuck out, and done drugs, and that would be a total fucking disaster. "I guess. It's school. Isn't that sort of the point?"

"How 'bout you, friend?" Leo asked and Lily glanced up.

"How 'bout me, what?" she asked, and bit her tongue against the urge to moan as Carmichael traced the rip across one thigh of her jeans.

Leo gave her a smirk that could've been a carbon copy of the wizard's beside her. "You getting all your education and shit?"

The redhead giggled. "Totally," she said. "Least I was before I met your cousin." Carmichael chuckled a little. "He's kind of a bad influence."

"Yeah?" Leo asked.

"Mhmm."

"So not even close, babe," he murmured.

Lily lifted her brows, eyes feeling very squinty, and shifted to get more comfortable, leaning into the crook of his shoulder. "So closer than close," she shot back, then laughed at herself. "I can count on one hand the number of times I got stoned before I met you, tosser." Dark eyes rolled. "And," Lily continued, "I'm pretty sure I wasn't failing any classes before I met you, either. And now here we are."

Leo sent his cousin a sharp look. "That true?" he murmured.

"Hardly," Carmichael said, then grinned at Lily, who poked his dimple, smirking back. "You're failing because you don't do your homework, babe," he said.

"And who's fault is that?" she pushed.

"Yours," Carmichael said lightly, as the blunt made it around to them again. He toked and passed it to her. "Besides, if you weren't so busy making out with half the school, you'd have time for homework."

Lily rolled her eyes, even as Carmichael's cousin laughed uproariously. "Fuck you, Carmichael," she murmured, and gasped as his warm palm flattened on the top of her inner thigh, pleasurable waves of euphoria washing over her most sensitive spots. Which at that moment, felt like pretty much everywhere.

"Later, babe," Carmichael murmured, and she giggled because that was definitely happening.

Leo weighed up some of the green and then rolled another blunt, tossing it over. "Spark that shit up," he said, and tossed Carmichael a funny, silvery little box, which the dark haired wizard flicked open and clicked on as if he did it every day, and Lily was kind of shocked when fire burst out of it, almost magically.

Carmichael indeed sparked the blunt up and puffed, looking thoughtful. "Not bad," he said on his exhale, then smirked and Lily felt the urge to kiss him as he toyed with his lip ring. "I've had better."

Leo sneered. "Course you have, tosser." The redhead giggled a little at that and accepted the blunt when Carmichael passed it, and toked gently. It was indeed not bad, as far as Lily was concerned, and when she passed the blunt back, exhaling her second puff, she definitely felt stoned, and then smirked, because that could also be from the pill.

"So, friend," Leo, said, leaning back, and the girl he'd banished first reappeared, wearing a tiny dress and four inch heels, dolled up to the nines. "How'd you meet my cousin?"

Lily shrugged. "We go to the same school, but I suppose I met him through my ex-boyfriend."

Carmichael grinned a little. "Not the last one, though." The redhead rolled squinty eyes.

Leo lifted a dark brow and Lily wondered which side they were related through, and assumed it must be his mum. "You some kinda slut, friend?" he teased. Lily frowned at that, because she had a proper name, and she wasn't 'some kind of slut' in her opinion.

"No," she said darkly. Leo smirked.

"Too bad," he said, and accepted the blunt from Carmichael as his lady friend climbed atop his lap. Lily bit her tongue on the moan that almost slipped out as Carmichael's hand slid down her thigh and back up temptingly, lighting up her nerve endings like a Christmas tree, and a hot blast of molten wanting poured through her.

"For you anyway, Leo," Carmichael said, and glanced at Lily.

"Go fuck yourself, Horace," Leo said lightly, even as his girl melted all over him temptingly.

"Unnecessary," Carmichael said in the exact same tone, which tripped Lily out a little, and she snuggled deeper into Carmichael, feeling high, horny, and utterly at ease, breathing in the smell of him. "Right, babe?" he murmured, and Lily didn't resist as his hand slid up under her tee. She felt warm and loose and utterly amazing, and didn't much care what happened so long as she was caught up in her buzz.

"Sure," she breathed, and leaned in, kissing him, even as his hand slid up and over her breast. Lily moaned into Carmichael's mouth, and he pushed his tongue past her lips, snogging her with consummate skill of precisely what she liked. And Lily realized she'd probably just melted all over the young wizard like Leo's girl had done on him.

When she at last broke away, slightly distracted as Carmichael kissed down her neck, grabbing an ass cheek as she half straddled him, Lily glanced over and saw Leo's girl pretty much giving him a lap dance, so far as Lily was aware lap dances were performed. And Leo was pretty much all over her, grabbing, fondling, and pulling her against himself harder. The redheaded witch jumped when Carmichael tugged her nipple, hard.

"Seriously, Potter?" he murmured against the shell of her ear. "Don't tell me you're actually one of those freaky, voyeur perverts."

Lily smacked him, but lightly. "Fuck you," she breathed, and yet felt her temper melting into white hot lust, fueled by the chemical blast of euphoria. And although she was aware, in some way, there were other people around, and quite possibly watching, she didn't resist as Carmichael rolled her beneath him on the couch after tugging her shirt off some indefinite time later.

"Fuck me is right, babe," he rumbled against her ear. "So long as you're begging and moaning for it."

By the time they got back to Carmichael's place, Lily was definitely starting to descend back to reality, and felt sleepy and sated, after things on the couch had gotten hot and heavy, and then he'd lead her to a bedroom, where things had quickly gotten nasty. The redheaded witch couldn't be entirely sure, because it was all sort of a blissed out haze of perfect euphoria but she was fairly certain there was more than a little spanking and talk of her being a slut.

The belief was only reinforced by Carmichael's cousin Leo, when they at last emerged, saying lightly to Lily, "Too bad my baby cousin doesn't like to share, friend. I bet you'd be enough to get a bloke evicted."

When they got back to Carmichael's at last, Lily vegetated and tried to figure out Muggle telly, feeling a tad anxious and back to crumby for lying to her parents, and smoked yet more weed with Carmichael. He answered the bell occasionally, selling drugs, she imagined, to people Lily had zero interest in meeting, and yet she glanced up nervously with every ding dong, fearing her parents, or worse.

"Seriously, Potter," he said, smirking at her. "You're going to break the fucking thing."

The redhead shoved him. "I just don't understand, there's like a million buttons," she said, shaking her head at the remote control thing that controlled the telly.

Dark eyes rolled, and the bell rang, and hazel eyes flicked nervously toward the door of the sitting room. "Relax, Potter. It's probably pizza," Carmichael said, chucking her gently under the chin, then got up. He went to the door, and Lily heard it open. "Whoa," she heard Carmichael say.

Lily put down the joint in the ashtray, a wave of paranoia sweeping over her, gut churning uncomfortably. There were footsteps, and Lily prayed in vain Carmichael was only coming back with pizza. As if in a flash of deja vu, the dark haired Ravenclaw walked in and sat beside Lily on the couch, but instead of Evan MacDougall walking in right after her fuck buddy she'd lied to come visit, Scorpius Malfoy walked in.

The redhead could only stare, mouth parted, eyes wide despite how stoned she felt, and there weren't any words. It was the first time she'd seen him in almost six months, and yet she still felt the same electric pull to him, couldn't help but blush just remembering what it felt like to surrender to the urge to melt all over him. And most of all Lily couldn't help but notice he looked really,  _really_  pissed, and that pissed her off.

"Having fun?" he asked darkly, eyes narrowed.

Lily shrugged, folding her arms. "I was. What d'you want?"

The blond pureblood, looking as handsome and well groomed as ever, frowned spectacularly. "I want you to go home," he said without hesitation.

Lily smirked a tiny bit and dark grey eyes narrowed dangerously. "That's nice. I'm actually really comfortable, so I think I'll stay." She saw Carmichael hold the joint out from her peripherals, and plucked it from his grasp. "Bye."

"You can't be serious," Scorpius said, looking shocked. "You realize your parents have no idea where you are right now, right?"

Lily rolled hazel eyes, feeling nettled by his tone as much as the words he was saying. "I assumed as much," he replied blandly, and smirked a little. "If they did know, they'd probably be pissed." She toked off the joint. "Goodbye, Malfoy."

His lip curled with unmitigated disgust, and even as her temper flared, Lily couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit disappointed in herself. Because that look communicated precisely how her guilty conscience felt about lying to her parents. "I think that answers your question," Carmichael said softly, and draped an arm over her shoulders.

"Shut the fuck up," Scorpius growled. "Your parents are going to be more than pissed if you don't come with me, Lily."

She lifted her eyebrows, and took a longer drag from the joint, holding it in for a beat before breathing it out at the blond pureblood. "Oh yeah? How's that?"

Malfoy narrowed his eyes at her, though whether from irritation or the smoke Lily couldn't quite be sure. "Because if you don't come of your own accord, I'll make damn sure you get there one way or another."

Lily passed the joint back to Carmichael and her head dropped onto his shoulder as the redheaded witch smirled. mockingly "Going to kidnap me, Scorpius?"

"If I have to," he said lightly, dark grey eyes flicking to Carmichael, who rolled dark eyes, for a beat. "Or maybe I'll have the authorities bring you home," he added.

The redhead snorted. "Best of luck with that," she replied. She hadn't broken any magical laws, or even done any underage magic, except a Contraceptive Charm, and she doubted Scorpius could find a reason for authorities to even come to Carmichael's, let alone take her away.

To her surprise, Scorpius grinned, and looked at Carmichael. "How long d'you think the Muggle police will put you away for? Remember it's not just the drug deals, but the harbouring an underage runaway, too."

Lily sat up furiously, and Carmichael shrugged, then smirked. "Guaranteed I'm not going to be here if the cops do show up," he said easily, but Lily felt him withdraw his arm from around her shoulders.

"You're a piece of shit," she said to Scorpius, feeling furious he was going to come in, ruining her parent-free weekend of being bad, and even more furious he was succeeding. Because she had no doubt, if the blond pureblood followed through with whatever shit he might think of concerning Muggle police, Carmichael would let her take the heat, and undoubtedly, she'd get in a shit ton of trouble.

The blond smirked without humour. "That's your type, isn't it?" he said flatly. Carmichael snorted, puffing his joint, but Scorpius's gaze didn't waver from Lily's. "Pack your shit, Lily."

Her mouth pursed but she couldn't see she had much choice, and felt mutinous, even as she stood up. But she went upstairs and got her shit together, because she didn't want to get in trouble, and she didn't, on the off chance it might happen, really want to get Carmichael in shit either. Sure, he was shady, and undoubtedly the worst sort of influence, but Lily rather liked him, and he'd been there when Scorpius hadn't. As she turned to exit his room, she saw Carmichael standing at the door. "You don't have to leave, Potter," he said softly. "We'd be gone before the cops even sent someone out."

Her mouth quirked up in a half smile, but she shook her head. "It's cool," she sighed. "I should go home anyway. I'm probably going to get grounded for the rest of my life, so it was nice knowing you, I guess."

Carmichael smirked, and she bit her lip as he chewed his lip ring and moved toward her. "See you at school, then," he replied.

Lily couldn't resist kissing him when he drew up to her, biting the lip ring and feeling a strong urge to give in and just go wherever with him. Instead, the redheaded witch pulled away from Carmichael, and readjusted her bag. "See you," she said, and brushed past him, going back downstairs. Scorpius was waiting by the door, looking impatient.

They didn't talk as they left Carmichael's house, and Lily bit her lip against the urge to look at him as he took her hand and Side-Along Apparated back to her parents' place. They popped into existence in the side yard, and Lily couldn't help but remember the summer night, ages ago, when he'd snogged her for the first time. She let go of his hand quickly and marched up toward the house, steeling herself from both the painful memories, and for whatever she might meet inside the house.

Lily found both her parents in the sitting room, her mother looking furious, her father worried. "Hi," she said timidly. "Um, I'm home." Her nerves skyrocketed and Lily remembered, far too late, she hadn't put her eye potion in, or used any Freshening Charms on herself, and almost forgot how to breathe.

" _Where_  have you been, young lady?" Ginny snapped.

"Um," Lily said, pretty sure if she said Cheryl's, her mother would lose it. She glanced at her father, who looked almost pained. "At a friend's," she said at last. Ginny Potter narrowed chocolate brown eyes at this.

"Which friend?" she snapped.

The redhead debated telling her parents the truth, or lying some more, by saying she went to visit the Pellard twins. But she knew lying would only make her sentence longer once she was found out, which she undoubtedly would be, so she bit her lip, looking down. "Carmichael," she said in a whisper.

Her parents glared, both looking pissed as hell now, and then looked silently at each other. Lily wondered, even as her stomach cramped guiltily and shame burned her cheeks, if her mother had told her dad precisely what sort of friend Carmichael was. Harry Potter stood up from his seat on the couch beside his wife, looking equally angry and disappointed, and the latter made Lily feel awful. "You lied to me, Lily," he said.

The young redhead couldn't help the tears that filled her hazel eyes. "I'm sorry," she said, but Harry only shook his head.

"You've never lied to me before. Ever." Lily couldn't meet his emerald gaze. "And I can honestly say, honey, I never thought you would. I'm very disappointed in you."

Lily hung her head, feeling about a millimeter tall, and waited for her mother's tirade. "What did you do at your friend Carmichael's?" Ginny asked after a long pause.

Lily bit her lip, because she doubted her mum wanted the truth. "Um, hung out," she said vaguely, and pushed a nervous hand through her hair, blowing out a breath. "And we went to visit his cousin," she added truthfully, pointedly leaving out the details of that, peeking up at her mother, who stared back from the sofa, eyes still narrowed.

"Oh?" Ginny said, brow lifting. "And what else?"

Lily grit her teeth a tiny bit, and shrugged. "Not much."

"Please do not insult my intelligence, Lily Luna," Ginny said darkly, and Lily could feel her father's unasked questions.

The younger redhead sighed. "What, then, Mum?" she sighed, feeling pissed at Scorpius for ruining her break on break, and now pissed her mother was being so bloody pushy and nosy, and thoroughly on edge. She had a feeling her mum was pushing to have Lily admit she'd slept with Carmichael, of her own accord, to her dad. But she wouldn't say it unless asked outright. Oh  _hell_  no!

"Have you been doing drugs?" her father asked, and Lily bit her tongue. Her prolonged silence seemed to be answer enough. "Lily." She glared at her father now, eyes narrowing.

"Sorry, not all of us spend our free time saving wizarding kind at school, Dad," she said rudely, and saw anger blaze in her father's green gaze and fury in the lowering of his dark brows. "So what? You really think I'm the only one of your children who's done it?" she added defensively.

Harry glared, but then Ginny said, in a falsely sweet voice. "And what else did you and your, ahem,  _friend_  Carmichael, get up to, Lily?"

The redhead narrowed her eyes, feeling angry and defensive and utterly murderous toward Scorpius effing Malfoy for dragging her back to  _this_ , even if part of her knew she more than deserved it. Harry sent his wife a sharp glance at her emphasis on friend. "This and that," Lily said, folding her arms.

Ginny sent her daughter a calculating look. "Shall I tell your father, or are you going to, Lily?" she finally asked. The redhead felt her lip curl a tiny bit, feeling utterly backed into a corner.

"Tell him what?" she snapped. "That Carmichael isn't my boyfriend? That he'll probably never be my boyfriend? Or that despite either of those facts, we still have sex sometimes?" She forced a cold shrug. "Tell Dad whatever you want, Mum. And don't forget to tell him how long you've known about me and Carmichael fucking around, too."

She turned around abruptly, feeling equally guilty, and angry, and ashamed, and barely saw Scorpius and her brother Albus in the kitchen as she stormed past, up toward the stairs, and her bedroom beyond. Her tears started the moment she'd slammed and locked the door, and she threw herself atop her bed and cried, because it wasn't  _fair_ , and she felt like the worst human being alive, and she was still absolutely furious that the only time she'd seen Scorpius since last bloody year, he'd looked at her like he'd been as disappointed in her as her parents were. And that hurt.

XXX


	18. Chapter 18

**Wish Upon a Star**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational drug use, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Lily didn't hear her bedroom door open a couple hours later, but she felt the bed sink down beside her. The young witch had stopped sobbing, but the anger still churned and bubbled viciously inside. "Lily, honey," her mother said, and the young redheaded witch closed her eyes, even as her mother's warm hand smoothed her brow comfortingly, and then sighed. "You know your dad and I only want the best for you," she said softly. Lily nodded woodenly. "And believe it or not, we understand if you want to have that kind of...relationship with your friend," she continued, and Lily's hazel eyes rolled behind her lids. "But it's not okay to lie to us."

"I know," she said after a long pause where her mother seemed determined to wait for a response. Lily braced for the punishment she knew was coming.

"And we both know he won't say it, but you hurt your father when you said those things to him, honey. You know he never wanted-"

"I know," Lily interrupted, louder, and with a little heat, because she  _did_  know, and she felt awful for saying that to her father. He was the epitome of an unwilling hero, and she didn't doubt he'd rather have his parents than be the saviour of wizarding kind.

"Then you know you owe him an apology," Ginny said firmly. Lily nodded miserably, curling into a ball. "Oh honey," she sighed. "I feel like I used to know you, but this year…" The younger redhead froze when her mother hugged her. "I don't like that I don't even know you anymore."

Lily felt a little awkward at that, but couldn't deny, she'd definitely stopped communicating. And not with just her mum, but with Rose as well. Her letters from Hogwarts in the last few months had been vague, talking about classes, and the odd bit about Pep Team, but on the whole, Lily didn't divulge nearly so much as she'd done in her younger years. "I'm growing up," she said, feeling equally defensive and guilty.

"I know. And I don't like it," Ginny admitted. "But I can handle that, so long as you start talking to me again."

Lily pulled a face. "Mum," she sighed, trying to phrase her words delicately. "No offence, but I'm not going to talk about my personal life. I mean, I get where you're coming from, but-"

"Honey," Ginny interrupted, sitting up, and Lily turned to face her mother at last. "You didn't even tell me you were failing Arithmancy, or that you were on the verge of failing Charms as well." Lily blushed guiltily. "I had to hear it from your father, who only found out from Professor Longbottom."

"It's not a big deal, I can-"

"It is too a big deal!" her mother said. "Lily, if you're having problems, I want to know about it!"

"I'm not," Lily grumbled, rolling back over. "I just…"

"Don't go to class," Ginny said, a little sternly. "Professor Longbottom mentioned that as well."

Lily was starting to feel nettled again, and tried to calm down. "So if you already know, what do you want me to say, Mum?" she sighed.

"I want you to tell me why, Lily."

The younger witch paused at that, because she couldn't tell her mum the truth. Because honestly, Lily knew the reason she'd wound up letting Carmichael be a bad influence, and the only reason she'd spent too many nights, indeed, in corridors getting snogged silly, and definitely the reason she'd done everything Carmichael had offered, was kind of stupid. And she could barely admit it to herself, let alone out loud and to her mother. She'd been stupid because she was mad at Scorpius. Mad they'd broken things off, mad he'd just gone away, and even more mad he'd found other witches to fill his time with. But most of all, she was mad at him because she bloody loved him, and he couldn't even be bothered to visit, despite his promises, and the only time she'd seen him since breaking up, had been when he'd looked at her with disgust.

She felt herself tearing up again, and swallowed. "I don't know why," she sighed. "Because I'm an idiot I guess." She should've known to just get the hell over Scorpius last year, but her foolish heart had gone on hoping there'd be more. But obviously her little school romance was just that, something that had happened when they'd both been at school. Scorpius probably didn't even want to date her again, even if she'd stuck to the straight and narrow.

She wasn't surprised when her mother hugged her tight. "You are not," she said firmly. "You're the smartest witch I know," she added. "Which is why I'm so very shocked and disappointed you've made such poor choices, honey."

Lily pulled a face, but couldn't deny, her mother wasn't wrong. "Thanks, Mum," she muttered.

Ginny smoothed a hand over her brow and through the fine hairs along her hairline once more. "You're still grounded, probably until you turn seventeen," the elder witch said. Lily frowned, but nodded. "And we're not going shopping for new Easter clothes," her mother added, and Lily kept nodding. She'd expected as much. "But I know if I forbid you to see that Carmichael boy, you probably will anyway." Dark red eyebrows shot up at that, and Lily looked round at her mother again. "I was sixteen once too, Lily," Ginny said, and smiled. And Lily swore, for an instant, she saw a flash of conspiratorial understanding in her mother's gaze. "So all I'm going to say," the elder redhead finished, rising from Lily's bed, then leaning down to kiss her on the cheek, "is that I know you enough still to believe you'll make the right choices in future." And with those slightly cryptic, oddly chastising words, Ginny left the young redheaded witch in peace once more, only now Lily was feeling distinctly less self pitying and far more guilty.

The redhead woke up on Easter feeling tired still, but excited, because she was still getting to go to The Burrow for lunch and the accompanying family visit, which was likely to be her last outing for a good long while at home. And she'd overheard conversation last night, after she'd gone to bed early but stopped to listen outside the living room after hearing her name, and the resulting conversation between her parents and brother Albus about having her Hogsmeade privileges revoked too. It appeared her older brother was certain she'd meet up with, and probably do illegal things and have the dreaded three-letter s word she wasn't supposed to know about according to her parents, let alone partake in with, Carmichael. Which, she admitted, wasn't far off the mark, but she'd probably find a way to meet up with Carmichael regardless.

The redhead sighed, got out of bed, and got dressed, then went downstairs, smiling at the little basket on the kitchen table for her, beside one for Albus and then one for James beside that, the same as it had always been on Easter morning since she could recall. And inside the basket were a handful of chocolate coins and a large chocolate egg bearing Sour Sizzler Snake gummies in raspberry flavour, her favourite.

She ate a chocolate coin and got coffee, hearing voices from the living room already, despite it being before seven. When she went into the homey room off the front hall, across from the kitchen, she saw her brothers, and to her surprise, Scorpius Malfoy. She'd heard he'd visited Albus a few times since dropping her off to be punished after sneaking out to Carmichael's, but Lily hadn't laid eyes on him since that horrible encounter. "Morning," she said with a forced smile, pointedly avoiding looking at either Albus or Scorpius.

"Morning," James said, and Albus grunted a repeat of the sentiment. "Enjoying break, Lils?" James asked casually, and Lily, who was certain Albus and Scorpius had wasted no time vilifying her to James, shrugged.

"I guess."

She sipped her coffee and then curled up in the armchair, pulling out her magazine, flipping through a hair tutorial in Witch Weekly she'd read already. "How's school going?" James asked, and Lily shrugged again.

"Fine." She glanced up from her magazine, pretending hard that she didn't have a care in the world, when she was both furious and still, intensely and unbearably, attracted to Scorpius, who sat a mere ten or so feet away. "Why so interested?"

"Just wondering," James said. "Why so defensive?"

"Because you don't ever ask about my life, and it's a little suspicious that you're doing so now," she replied easily, and looked back at her magazine. "And whatever Albus has told you is probably a lie," she added in a grumble over her coffee mug.

"Rosie told me you got named Captain of the Pep Team," James teased, and Lily fought the urge to roll her eyes. "You didn't mention that at Christmas."

"Because it's embarrassing," she mumbled. "And I only took it so Gryffindor wouldn't automatically forfeit the Pep Cup this year, because if I didn't take Captain, Professor Longbottom wasn't going to even sanction a Gryffindor Pep Team."

Albus laughed at that. "Maybe that would've been for the best," he said, and Lily shot him a dirty look. "What? No one really takes that shit serious, except nutters like Vic and Rosie," Albus said dismissively.

Lily scowled, because she was becoming, despite her slipping grades, a much better Pep Captain than she'd reckoned she'd be at the start of the year. Sure, it was still kind of embarrassing, but Lily was developing a passion for her Pep Team that was eerily reminiscent of Rose and their eldest cousin Victoire. And Lily was determined her team would do well, and try their hardest to keep the Cup. "Not all of us are Quidditch inclined."

"Abominations," Albus teased, and James laughed with him.

"Naw, I can get not playing Quidditch," James said lightly, and Lily stuck her tongue out at Albus. "But the not flying is abnormal for sure."

"I'm telling you, someone messed up at Mungo's and gave us the wrong sister," Albus said, smirking. Lily rolled her eyes.

"You two suck," she said dismissively, flipping a page in her magazine. "And for your information," she added smugly, "I can too fly a broom." The redhead scowled as James and Albus, and even Scorpius now, laughed uproariously at her.

"Good one, Lils," James said, wiping a tear of mirth from the corner of his eye. "You flying on a broom. Yeah right." Albus was still laughing.

"The lot of you can sod off, I can too fly a broom," Lily grumbled, blushing and feeling grumpy, getting up to go back upstairs.

"Prove it." Lily paused after turning to head out of the room, and then turned back around slowly, finally looking properly at Malfoy for the first time, seeing the challenging glint in his dark grey eyes, the cocky tilt of his mouth goading her temper.

Albus snorted. "She can't, Scor," he said lightly.

"Watch me," Lily snarled, narrowing her eyes at the blond pureblood, and set her coffee mug down, marching toward the back door into the garden. James leapt up, following, and Scorpius and Albus followed. Lily marched to the broom shed, feeling rebellious but internally thanking Evan MacDougall for teaching her and helping her master her fear of flying. Even if it was just enough to stick it to her brothers.

The morning was damp and chilly, but Lily hardly noticed as she wrenched the broom shed door open and pulled out Albus's old Firebolt Phoenix. "Mother of Merlin, Lily, you're not actually-?" James began, but she silenced him with a look.

"I am," she said sternly. "And you can all bugger off when I do." She stomped over to a clear section of lawn and held the broom up. It hovered expectantly, and the redhead sucked in a deep breath, then moved to mount it, just like MacDougall had shown her. She felt a burst of elation when her feet left the ground a few centimeters, and grinned over at Scorpius. "Ha! See? Can too."

"You're not flying, you're hovering, Lily. But congrats, you can sit on a broom all by yourself now," Albus said, then scoffed. "Now get off before you fall and break something."

Lily glared. "Fuck you." She kicked off from the ground, soaring up into the cold morning air, and glanced back to see her brothers and Scorpius looking shocked as she steered herself, gripping the broom for dear life with both hands, in a lazy circle downward before at last touching down gracefully. "Now," she said, feeling a rush of victorious pleasure that all three young wizards just stared back at her as if she'd grown another head, and a burst of adrenaline from being airborne, "if I hear one more crack about me being abnormal, I'm going to curse you. Because I  _can_  fly. I just don't want to." She left the broom on the ground, and walked back inside, head held high.

She went to the kitchen and found her mother drinking coffee, looking pleased. "When did you learn to ride a broom, honey?" she asked, obviously having watched from the window, and Lily blushed. Her mother had never said a word about Lily's aversion to flying, but the younger redhead was almost certain her mum, who loved flying, and Quidditch, had been a little more than a little disappointed.

"A friend taught me," she said. "And no, not Carmichael, if you're going to ask," she added defensively, and Ginny Potter frowned a little.

"Who then?"

"Just a friend," Lily said, then paused and bit her lip. Would it really be so bad to mention to her mother that she was capable, mostly, of dating a nice respectable young wizard? "Um, well, he was sort of my boyfriend for awhile," she murmured, and Ginny smiled a tiny bit.

"Oh?" she said, moving to start making breakfast. Lily leaned against the counter.

"Yeah. He was really nice. Anyway, Evan, that's his name, taught me how to fly, because he wanted me to be able to stick it to James and Albus. I told him that they tease me sometimes about it, so he kind of made it his personal mission to teach me. And he was a really good teacher," Lily gushed, because it felt nice, like old times, when she'd had her first crushes, to share things with her mum.

"He sounds very nice," Ginny said, and Lily smiled with her.

"He was. He  _is_ ," she said, and folded her arms. "And he's like super sweet," she murmured, sighing. "Like, when we were dating, he got me this bottle of Invisible Ink, so I could book Pep Team practice times and not have the whole school show up and watch us."

The elder redheaded witch shook her head. "Why did you stop dating him, then, honey?" she asked curiously, and Lily drew up short. Because sharing was one thing, but she didn't think she could ever admit to her mother the truth.

"Well," she murmured, "he's in Hufflepuff, so it was kind of hard to see him a lot," she murmured, because she'd sort of stopped trying as hard to toward the end. "And we ended up wanting different things," she finished lamely, because she didn't know what else to say that wouldn't make her sound like a horrible person. "It just didn't work out."

"When did you two break up?" Ginny asked with a frown. Lily blushed guiltily, because she couldn't say when she went to Carmichael's. That would just end poorly.

"Just near the Christmas holiday," she said. Ginny nodded, and Lily wondered if her mother thought that was the reason she'd gone to see Carmichael in the first place. Which, although not strictly true, was the best she could've hoped for to have her mother think, she reckoned.

"Hmm," Ginny said softly, without inflection, and Lily sighed, because that wasn't remotely helpful, and she didn't like not having her mother's open, honest opinion.

"Anyway, I'm sure I'll find someone better," Lily said falsely, but her mother only lifted a brow and continued on with breakfast. "I will," she said with determination, trying to feel sure of herself with little success. And then Scorpius walked into the kitchen, looking both sheepish and mildly apologetic.

"I'm sorry, Lily," he said, even as Ginny scrambled eggs and whipped up pancake batter simultaneously. "I didn't mean to be a jerk, before, about pushing you to fly a broom."

The younger redhead shrugged, going toward the kitchen's exit, feeling grumpy about that still, because Scorpius had laughed at her, right along with her brothers, thinking her inept. "I don't take you being a jerk personally anymore, Malfoy," she said lightly, and went to grab her coffee after gathering her Easter basket.

"Well I want to make it up to you," the blond pureblood insisted. "I feel bad," he admitted in a mumble once they were alone in the sitting room. "I should know better than to challenge you. You're tougher than anyone."

Lily felt herself preen a little at the compliment, which sounded awfully sincere, but shook her head. "I don't need or want your pity, Scorpius," she said archly, casting him a significant look. His mouth tightened.

"Then you won't get it," he shot back. "But you can have my help if you want it." Lily sneered.

"I'll need your help when Hell freezes over, you prick."

Blond eyebrows lifted with palpable condescension. "Tell me all about how you can Apparate, then," he said mockingly. "Stop getting your back up at every little thing, Potter," he added in that utterly  _Malfoy_  voice, that made her grit her teeth.

"Go fuck yourself."

"Is that a no to my help? I'm willing to bet I could help even a hopeless case, you know."

Lily' mouth dropped open. "You're such an arrogant prick, I'm surprised you don't walk into things. Because your nose is probably permanently stuck up your own ass."

"You didn't always think so," he said in a low voice, and Lily froze, because  _how fucking dare he_!?

"It wasn't always true," she barked. Dark grey eyes rolled.

"So?" Scorpius pushed. "D'you want to learn to Apparate properly, or not?" he pushed.

Lily bit her lip, but she figured she could use all the help she could get, really. She was as likely to move through time and space now as the Atlantic Ocean, and surely even Malfoy could be a decent teacher. And there was a teeny tiny part of her that all but glowed, that Scorpius wanted to do  _anything_  with her, at all. And she was too selfish to refuse. "Fine," she said.

Scorpius smiled. "Meet me by the dock after lunch," he said, and then moved out of the living room and outside while Lily went up to her bedroom. And even though she told herself sternly this wasn't even remotely close to a date, she couldn't help but smile and hum a little as she took a shower, feeling excited anyway.

"You have to move with deliberation," Scorpius said a good two and a half hours into her Apparition lesson, and Lily barely refrained from rolling her eyes.

"Thank you so fucking much Apparating Instructor Malfoy, for saying that for the fifty seventh time, I completely get it now," she replied, words all but oozing sarcasm. Scorpius did roll his eyes. "Obviously I'm trying!"

"No, you're not. And getting mad isn't going to help," Scorpius said, and pushed a hand through his hair, pacing back and forth before her. "Look, just think of it as if you're playing Quidditch, and-"

"Except I don't play Quidditch," Lily interrupted. Scorpius sighed, looking as if he was about to pull his own hair out.

He took a deep breath, blowing it out slowly, and frowned. "Okay, well I imagine it like I'm playing Quidditch, and I'm swooping in to grab a fumbled pass from the opposing team. I just focus completely on doing that. So when I Apparate, I just channel that feeling. Determination with deliberation to get to my destination."

The redhead sighed, feeling dejected, because she doubted she'd ever pass her Apparition test. "Too bad I haven't got any Quidditch skills," she grumbled. Because the pureblood's explanation had at least made sense, which was more than Wilma Twycross had ever accomplished during her school sessions.

The blond stopped pacing, and looked as if he'd just stumbled over the best idea since Butter-whiskeys, which were bizarrely delicious. "What do you love most in the world?" Scorpius demanded. Lily pulled a face.

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

The blond rolled his eyes at her again. "Okay, you like Chocolate Cauldrons, right? Those ones with the caramel goo in the middle, yeah?" Lily felt her mouth drop open in shock. Because she'd only visited Hogsmeade with Scorpius once, and she couldn't help but wonder if there was some sort of deeper implication that he remembered her favourite treat from Honeydukes'.

"Yeah," she finally said, after staring at him for a long moment, feeling torn between stalking away furiously he even dared to pretend to know her still, and bursting into tears, because she hadn't thought about that memorable afternoon in so long it almost hurt.

"Okay, so imagine you're at Honeydukes'," he said, looking at her intently, and then closed his eyes briefly, as if picturing the shoppe in his mind. "And you're standing near the Cockroach Clusters and Fungus Gum, and there's just one box of those caramel Chocolate Cauldrons left."

Lily shook her head a little, because he sounded insane, but closed her eyes and imagined it. "Okay." She sighed and lifted her brows. "Now what?"

"Someone else is reaching up to buy them, and you  _want_  them, Lily," Scorpius said in a low tone, and Lily shivered, because it brought other memories, ones she'd pointedly squashed into the darkest depths of her brain, and the redhead gulped.

"Okay," she said again, her voice sounding funny even to her own ears. Too breathy and unsteady, and certainly far too inviting. She was  _furious_  still, damn it!

"Now take that feeling and let it fill you up, the one where you're  _going_  to get those Chocolate Cauldrons." She sighed, and Scorpius pursed his mouth, even though she couldn't see it. "Those  _on sale_  Chocolate Cauldrons, filled with caramel and sitting all lonely and with your name on, on the shelf."

Lily's brows pulled together. "Yeah," she said, with gusto.

"Now take  _that_ , and put into in Apparating. You're not trying, you're doing. You're going to turn into nothingness, go to your location, and  _get_  the fucking Chocolate Cauldrons."

The redhead opened blazing hazel eyes. "Hell yeah," she said, and Scorpius was convinced she would make it this time. And after she grit her teeth, Scorpius watched her step forward, turn into nothingness, and then poke her head out from behind the broom shed a moment later. "Holy fucking Godric Gryffindor's dirty whore, I  _did it_!" she screamed, and Scorpius laughed and smiled.

Lily couldn't stop beaming. She had  _done it_! She'd Apparated, all on her lonesome, even though it wasn't specifically allowed since she was under aged still. And while it wasn't much, distance wise, she felt unbearably better about her magical prowess. Because now that she'd accomplished something as awfully difficult as Apparating, which was something none of her other dorm mates except maybe Matilda had mastered either, Lily saw nonverbal spells as a cake walk.

"You did do it," Scorpius replied hugging her briefly before grinning with pride down at her, and Lily had to stay the urge to jolt up onto her toes and kiss him, certain he'd never want that. "It was impressive," Scorpius admitted.

"Yeah," Lily agreed breathlessly, because Scorpius still hadn't let her go, and for a moment he looked as though he might, to her delight, want to kiss her.

But then he pulled back, and said, "Okay, now try for somewhere further." Lily felt her heart, buoyed up on hope and unrequited love, deflate lifelessly to the pit of her stomach, and tried to pull herself together.

"Sure," she said softly, but even though she pasted on a valiant smile, she wanted to cry. She was stupid and foolish, and utterly naive to think just because he'd spent a few hours teaching her to Apparate, Scorpius would somehow want her again, or that she'd even still be worthy of consideration in his eyes.

XXX


	19. Chapter 19

**Wish Upon a Star**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational drug use, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Easter dinner at The Burrow was always a big to do, and when Lily walked in the back door in her parent's wake, it was to be enveloped in the warm smells of turkey and stuffing and fresh baked pies. It appeared that year was to be no different. The kitchen was already packed, so Lily gave her Nan a quick hug and kiss with an even quicker, "Happy Easter," and slipped out into the sitting room, easily spotting Rose, who was talking to Hugo and a distinctly awkward looking Cheryl. She made her way over, making sure to dodge the relatives she knew would ask her incessantly about school, or try to pinch her cheeks like she was still eight years old.

"Hey, girl," the auburn haired, blue eyed witch said with a grin. "Hugo was just telling me how you've been whipping your Pep Team girls into shape."

"Mmm," Lily said noncommittally. "I thought he'd be telling you how he's fallen head over ears for my dorm mate," she replied cheekily. "Hugo, you prat, have you even introduced her?"

Rose smirked. "Sod off, Lily," Hugo grumbled, blushing a little.

"If you insist, Hugo, but not until after I do your dirty work, because you're too scared to. Rose, this is my friend Cheryl, Hugo's girlfriend. Cheryl, this is my cousin Rose. You remember her, yeah?" Cheryl rolled her eyes and Lily sent Hugo a gloating look as Rose stifled a giggle. "See? So not hard Hugo," the redhead said, and glanced at Cheryl. "Smile, Graves. Rosie's one of the nice Weasleys, for the most part anyway." Hugo frowned, but reached for Cheryl's hand, even as Rose chuckled with amusement.

Cheryl smiled a little, and glanced over Lily's shoulder. "When you talk to Malfoy, tell him we said hi," she shot back, and Lily frowned, then turned, and saw Scorpius standing right behind her. Hugo grinned.

"We're going to go find Mum," he said to no one in particular, and the pair disappeared.

"Malfoy," Rose said politely, eyeing up the blond pureblood and then looking with interest at Lily.

"You're looking well, Rose," Scorpius said quite formally.

"You too," she said. "Are you and Al back from touring the world, then?"

Scorpius shrugged. "There's a few more destinations to cross off the list, but for the most part we are."

"Well whenever you tossers finish, come and visit me. I'm just about to move into my own place in London, so you can take me out for a drink to celebrate your homecoming." Scorpius smirked, because it was so typical Rose to invite him out and insist he pay, and he recalled, fleetingly, how much he'd hated it when she'd done it the brief time they'd dated the year before when they'd visited Hogsmeade. "Deal?" the auburn haired witch said expectantly.

"Deal," he said lightly, and Rose patted his cheek condescendingly, then laughed. Lily, feeling like a third wheel, was about to excuse herself, even as her heart sank, but then Scorpius added, "Can I talk to you for a second, Lily?"

She looked up at the tall blond pureblood, a little startled, and Rose, taking the hint, slunk away without a word to her cousin. "Um, sure," she said, and gulped a little. Scorpius merely turned away, and she followed him outside the front door of the Burrow and down the front path through the garden a ways. "What's up?" she asked, folding her arms over her chest, because the wind was brisk and chilly. She felt a little edgy, because she wondered what Scorpius could possibly want to talk to her about. He'd taught her to Apparate, sure, but that was a far cry from them being  _friends_. And if he wanted to talk about Carmichael, she would probably flip.

Scorpius frowned, staring at the ground, hands stuffed in his pockets. "Is it true you're failing Charms?" he finally asked, looking as if he were braced for her to yell at him. Lily felt her temper rear but shrugged, because she hadn't expected that.

"Not yet," she admitted. She was fairly certain by the time the end of the year arrived she would be if she didn't start putting some serious effort in.

Scorpius glared at her. "Why?" he demanded.

Lily grit her teeth. "Because I'm bollocks at it, and it's hard, and I pretty much suck at nonverbal spells, okay?" she snapped. "Like fuck, why  _not_ join the line of people who want to bitch at me about my grades, right?" she grumbled petulantly. "You're such a jerk."

Scorpius snorted with obvious derision. "Good, I'm glad I'm not the only one disappointed, then," he shot back, and Lily's mouth dropped open in shock. "I know for a fact you're not an idiot, so what's the deal, Lily?"

The redhead could only stare. "Fuck you," she said at last, and made to turn away.

"A predictably stupid answer," he replied scathingly, and she turned back, pulling her wand out of her magically Enlarged and Undetectable pocket of her skinny jeans, pointing it at him. Scorpius merely smirked. "That's more like it," he teased, because it wasn't the first time she'd pointed her wand in his face. "I bet you don't have trouble casting curses without speaking," he added, and the redhead forced herself to breathe deeply and lowered her wand arm.

"None at all," she said, and tried valiantly to contain her fury, because Scorpius was being a dick in her opinion, and she was almost tempted to slap him.

"That's because you put everything into it. I can promise you, if you approach all your nonverbal spells with that intensity, you'll probably succeed," he said.

"It's not that easy," Lily snapped. "Fucking class is boring, and half the time I just want to…" The young witch trailed off, and looked back toward the crooked house her grandparents had lived in forever. She couldn't tell him she just wanted to skive and find Carmichael for a quickie and a joint instead. "It doesn't matter," she mumbled.

"Yes it does," Scorpius replied instantly. "It matters lots. You're going to wish, someday, the worst thing you had to live through was boring old classes."

Lily snorted. "Like you'd know."

The blond pureblood narrowed his eyes, but smiled. "Really?" he drawled. "That's funny, because I've been back, to stay, for about a month, and I can promise you, listening to my father talk about how to handle the Malfoy family investments when he croaks is more boring than the most dreadful day at school. So yeah, I  _do_  know."

Lily couldn't help it, and smiled a tiny bit. "That sucks," she murmured. Scorpius merely shrugged.

"It comes with the territory," he replied lightly.

"So are you just going to do what your dad did then?" she murmured. Lily knew Scorpius's dad, Draco Malfoy, admitted Death Eater with the faint Dark Mark to prove it, had become a respectable business man after the war, investing in ventures he knew could be successful, and rebuilding his family's esteem in the wizarding world. "Be in business?" Somehow Lily couldn't see it.

"No," Scorpius said, then smiled a tad ruefully. "My father isn't precisely ready to relinquish control to me anyway." Lily almost asked what he planned to do instead, but refrained at the last second, because it wasn't really any of her business. The blond smiled, dark grey eyes softening a little. "The question is, what do  _you_  want to do, Lily? When you don't have boring ass school anymore and you have to be a grown up?" She paused at that. "Figure that out, and you'll figure out what you have to do. And even if it means you fail Charms to focus on something else, at least you'll have your life sorted out."

The redhead sighed, because that kind of made a lot of sense, but she was still half mad. "Why did you come back early?" she pushed, because she didn't know what she wanted to do after school, and wanted to keep the conversation away from him lecturing her about her grades. And a tiny part of her was pleased that Scorpius wanted to talk to her at all still, and that part wanted to relive, if only briefly for break, the easy camaraderie she'd once shared with Scorpius, even if she wasn't foolish enough to think there'd be anything more. Although her foolish heart hoped regardless.

Scorpius shrugged, but his face was very guarded. "Personal reasons," he said lightly.

"Is Al back to stay?" she pushed.

The blond smirked. "Your brother give up another three months of adventuring to cool his heels at home and act his age? Definitely not." Lily's brows pulled together, but before she could ask anything else, Scorpius said, "Anyway, since I am back, if you want to pull up your Charms mark, I'd be willing to help you."

The redhead snorted a laugh. "You're going to tutor me?" she asked dismissively, brows lifting.

"If you want."

Lily put her wand back in her pocket, and smirked a little, tilting her head. "Somehow I doubt the three days left of break after today are going to help much."

Dark grey eyes rolled. "Then I'll come meet you in Hogsmeade on weekends."

Lily's brows shot up in surprise. "You will?" she asked, feeling a little silly, because there was no reason she should feel so touched he'd go out of his way to help her, and  _definitely_  no reason to feel a burst of excitement at the thought of seeing Scorpius while back at school. Because they obviously weren't going to magically be back together, and he was probably only offering because he pitied her.

"Sure," he said, and smiled crookedly, making her heart ache with the memories and her mouth go dry, because he was so bloody handsome. "It can't be more boring than listening to specifics of business deals from my father, right?" Lily smiled at that. "And we've already seen I'm an excellent teacher, because you'd be as likely to Apparate without my help as that rock over there."

Lily laughed, and shoved him playfully, turning to go back inside. Scorpius fell into step beside her. "Fine," she said as they drew up to the front door again. "But if I fail anyway, you owe me."

Scorpius grinned. "I'll buy you some Chocolate Cauldrons. The ones with the caramel goo, too."

Lily spent the rest of the Easter visit before food was ready talking with Rose, getting some tips for her Pep Team and teasing Hugo behind his back about being so nervous to introduce his girlfriend to his family. "They dated last year, right?" Rose whispered, even as she and Lily spied on them and giggled a little.

"Yeah," Lily said.

"So cute. Anyway, I'm glad Hugo found someone he actually had the guts to bring home. He's braver than me." Lily snorted.

"Your mum made him, you know," she confided. Blue eyes widened. "Yup. She found out they were hooking up and, although I didn't hear the Howler myself, apparently she said if he was having a relationship serious enough to sleep with some young woman, it meant he'd bring her home to meet you lot."

"How did Mum find out?" Rose asked with interest. Lily blushed a tiny bit.

"From my mum," she admitted. Rose looked confused and gave her the 'Spill, bitch' look. "My mum sort of found out I'm more than strictly friends with Carmichael, and she was bugging me about it, in every letter, to date someone respectable instead, and come to my senses, blah blah blah. So I just said it shouldn't matter if I sleep with Carmichael, because Hugo's hooking up with Cheryl."

To Lily's surprise, Rose frowned. "Ew," she said, looking slightly disgusted and as if she'd never properly seen Lily before. The redhead scowled back. "No offence, I mean he's not like ugly or anything," Rose replied a tad defensively. "But seriously, Lils? Come on. You could do so much better." Lily's scowl deepened. "And anyway, it's probably not going to last with Carmichael past this year for you, right? I mean, he'll be graduating and shit, right?" Rose shrugged, even as Lily felt her lip curling a little. "I'm just saying, no point going through the same kind of shit you did last year with Malfoy. Why not find someone more long term before you  _have_  to? And we all know you could do better, honey."

The redheaded witch blinked, because she felt like she'd just been slapped. "Excuse me?" she breathed. "You can't compare Carmichael and our non-relationship to me and Scorpius," she snapped. "I don't love Carmichael, and I never planned to have more with him than some fun this year."

Rose pulled a face. "Honey, I love you, but let's face it, it's not like Scorpius was a real relationship either." Lily's mouth dropped open. "I know you loved him, and I'm not denying  _that_ , but outside the physical part, you two didn't really have much in the way of a relationship, sweetie."

The redhead bit back the urge to exclaim she could have if Rose hadn't been dating him and told her she 'wasn't okay' with Lily doing so after they broke up. "You're a bitch," Lily hissed instead, standing up and wanting to go home.

Rose smiled. "I know. But I'm not wrong, either. Look, I'm not saying you'll  _never_  have anything with Malfoy, but messing around with Carmichael is only narrowing the likelihood of that end. Least in my opinion."

Lily stalked away, feeling nettled, and was relieved when her Nan announced, from the kitchen, that food was ready. She squished between her brothers, full plate balanced on her knees expertly in the sitting room, and stared at her food, turning over what Rose had told her in her mind, hating that there was a lot of sense in it. She and Scorpius had shared a mostly physical relationship, after they'd finally gotten together properly, and while that wasn't the full extent of it, she realized with a jolt most of the time they'd spent together last year had been in the pursuit of hooking up. And the rest, the times when they'd simply talked or hung out, had almost all been outside the context of their dating.

For Lily, there had been much deeper feelings, of course, and she'd fallen fast and hard for the blond pureblood from the first moment he'd kissed her during the summer on her parents' lawn. But, she couldn't deny, during the few months they for real dated, it had been almost all physical gratification. And that lead the redhead to thinking and wondering if she would feel the same acute loneliness, like Rose had said, next year at the start of term, when there was no more distractions in the form of Carmichael.

"Stop frowning," Albus said, elbowing her in the ribs, and Lily pursed her mouth. "You'll get wrinkly. And Merlin knows you're ugly enough as is."

The redhead rolled her eyes and smirked, because even if he was a douche, her brother always had a knack for making her feel better. "And I'm still the best looking one on this couch," she snapped back.

"Definitely not," James mumbled, mouth full. His girlfriend, Mandy Lily thought she'd introduced herself as, shot her boyfriend a dirty look at the lack of manners from the arm of the sofa.

"Definitely," Lily said, and looked back at Albus. "At least you're not the ugliest, Al. I think Jamie wins that one."

Albus laughed as James scowled and Lily finished eating, feeling, at least for the time being, pretty content. They finally left the Burrow just before sunset, Lily and her brothers and Scorpius all jammed into the magically expanded backseat of her parents' Muggle car, and she watched the familiar streets sliding by the windows. "This is bollocks," Albus said from beside her. "Why do we have to be jammed in here, all because Lily can't Apparate, when she could just Side-Along?"

"Because we're a family," Ginny said automatically. "And because we always drive back from Easter dinner."

"And because we had to do it before you could Apparate too, genius," James said.

"I can Apparate," Lily grumbled. Ginny turned in the front passenger seat to stare at Lily, and the redhead blushed as Albus snorted in disbelief.

"Not according to Professor Longbottom," her oldest brother said evenly, and although the words were said nicely enough, they still rubbed Lily the wrong way.

"She can Apparate," Scorpius said softly, from his position between Albus and James. "I've seen it."

The green eyed young wizard narrowed his eyes at his best mate, but Lily beamed, because her mother looked impressed. "Really? Well congratulations, honey. Although, you know, you're still under aged, so perhaps it's best to avoid doing so outside the grounds of our home."

"And preferably only in lessons at school," Harry added. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," she murmured, and resumed looking out the window as they drew toward home.

By the next morning, Lily had pushed Rose's words from her head, certain in her conviction she had almost no feelings, other than lust and amusement, for Carmichael. And even when he graduated, she'd be totally cool. In fact, the only thing the redhead  _could_  think about as she got up and got dressed, regarding her reflection sternly in the mirror,was possibly seeing Scorpius, alone and unguarded, even if it was to do Charms.

She took the time to brush her hair out, then pulled it up before pulling a face and tugged her messy bun back out, leaving it down, putting some of Mabel's Magic Mousse in to attempt taming her waves, but her dark red hair was still beastly. Instead of worrying about it, she slicked on mascara and lipgloss and sighed, because she new if she put on anything else, someone would wonder why she wearing makeup. And Lily couldn't stand the thought of said person being Scorpius, because she could never admit she wanted to look her best because she knew he'd still be at the Potter house. "Good enough," she murmured at last, and shrugged into her favourite chunky cardigan from her Nan before heading downstairs.

Her mother and father were both in the kitchen when Lily arrived, and no one else. Lily, still feeling a little tense and guilty around her father after lying to him, and him being more upset than he'd ever been with her, was tempted to turn right back around, but she could smell hot fresh coffee and her mother's blueberry pancakes.

"Morning," she said quietly, moving to sit at the little breakfast table by the window, where Harry Potter was seated, coffee in hand, reading the paper.

"Good morning," her mother said automatically, and Harry shook out his paper slightly, then repeated the sentiment. "You're up earlier than I thought, honey," Ginny Potter continued.

"I have homework," she said, striving to sound casual and anything but defensive. In reality, she was excited for Scorpius to tutor her in Charms, because even if she'd probably never have him again, it was still nice to be around him, preferably alone and not arguing.

She sighed at that thought, and then her father glanced at her from over the paper. "How much homework?"

The redhead frowned. "Not much," she lied, but the lie niggled. "Well, I mean, it won't be too hard to finish, what I do have," she qualified. Because her Potions and Transfiguration homework would be simple, she'd pretty much stopped doing Arithmancy homework altogether, and all she had for Defence Against the Dark Arts and Charms were some short assignments and the mastering of some nonverbal spells. And she could finish her Herbology assignment, a monster of an essay, the next day, certainly.

Her mother Levitated a plate with pancakes and sausages on it over to her at the table, a cup of coffee with it, and another plate soared toward Harry, who moved his paper in perfect expectation. "This looks great, Gin," he said, smiling, and promptly tucked in.

"Thank you," Ginny said fondly as she carried her own plate to the table. "Dig in, Lily, honey."

Lily could only stare, even as she mechanically picked up her fork, because that little exchange between her parents, and the casual way they had of anticipating the other, made Lily realize she wanted something like that in her life, and she could only think of one person who she wanted it with. "Thanks, Mum," she said softly.

"You're welcome, honey."

By the time her brother and Scorpius rolled out of bed, looking, to Lily anyway, a little hung over, which made her wonder just what they'd gotten up to the night before, Lily was halfway through her second coffee, breakfast plate cleared and being washed by an enchanted sponge, and had Summoned her Potions homework from upstairs, if only to prove to her father she would easily finish it before break ended.

"Morning," she said loudly, and Albus winced.

"Breakfast is on the stove, boys," Ginny said, tidying up the kitchen efficiently.

"Move your crap," Albus grumbled, shoving Lily's textbook away from his usual place at the table. The redhead glared.

"Sod off, Albus," she snapped, shoving the book back.

"Sod off yourself," the dark haired wizard growled, taking a sip of coffee, and setting his mug, purposely, down on her half finished essay.

Lily flicked him a dark look, and reached for her wand to remove her brother's coffee, and preferably pour it over his head. "Maybe if you didn't get drunk last night, you wouldn't be such a dick," she hissed, and Albus smirked, glancing across at his best mate.

"Wasn't my idea," the green eyed wizard replied.

"Which is shocking, because it wasn't a very good idea, and normally those are your forte, Al," Scorpius said, moving his best mate's coffee and sipping. Albus scowled a little. Lily, striving to appear relaxed, even as her heart rate kicked up and and she felt a blast of arousal, because she could feel Scorpius looking at her, merely twitched her essay closer and kept working silently. "What are you working on?" Scorpius asked politely as Albus got up for more coffee and some breakfast.

"Potions," Lily replied, not looking up, trying to smother her excitement.

"Horrid subject," Albus said from the stove.

"Because you were bollocks at it," Scorpius said, grinning. "Make me a plate, I'm your guest." Albus flipped him off, but moved to fetch another plate from the cupboard. "I figured you'd be working on Charms," Scorpius continued, looking at Lily.

Lily glanced up, then licked her lips, smiling a little. "Yeah? Why is that?"

"Because everyone knows you're failing," Albus said as a plate landed ungracefully before Scorpius.

"Albus, don't be rude to your sister, and don't tease her!" Ginny snapped. "When you've finished breakfast, you can go fold your laundry," she added, then headed out of the kitchen.

"Just saying," the green eyed wizard said, smirking, then sat back down at the table with his own plate. He ruffled Lily's hair and she scowled at him and smacked his hand away.

"I'm not failing," she snapped. "I'm just not doing  _well_."

"The hopeful words before inevitable failure," Albus said through a mouthful of pancakes.

Scorpius, when Lily glanced at him after slugging Albus on the arm, merely said, "There might be hope for you yet, Little Potter. Maybe." The redhead stuck her tongue out at him, and focused on her Potions homework again, but she couldn't help but think about him tutoring her later, even as she told herself to stop, because it wasn't even close to a date, just a pity help session. It almost worked.

After lunch, Lily was wondering when Scorpius planned to help her out. By the time dinner rolled around, and he mostly ignored her all day, and then went out with Albus again, who'd be leaving the next morning, Lily was feeling entirely bummed. She told herself it was stupid to be sad that the blond pureblood had ditched her, and it didn't even  _matter_ , but Lily couldn't help feeling distinctly let down.

She went up to her room after eating, intending to start on her Transfiguration, after her Potions had been neglected to wonder when the bleeding fuck Scorpius would get around to tutoring her, and wound up taking most of the day to complete. And even though Lily's stupid, naive, and foolish heart held out hope Scorpius might still come, her head affirmed she was an idiot for doing it.

The redhead made quick work on her Transfiguration assignment after pushing Scorpius from her mind, and by quarter after eight she was just wrapping up and considering an early night to bed. Right after a celebratory Butterbeer and snack, of course. The redhead went down to the kitchen, got some crisps and a Butterbeer, and headed back up to her room, saying goodnight to her parents, who were in the sitting room, and fought the urge to sigh, still disappointed Scorpius had ditched her. She shifted her snack and drink to one hand to open her bedroom door, and then closed it, sighing once more with a heavy heart.

"You sound positively tortured," a familiar voice drawled from behind her, and Lily bit back the scream as she whirled, dropping her snack and Butterbeer to grab for her wand, and saw Scorpius sitting on the edge of her bed, looking amused at her reaction. "Did I scare you? My bad."

"What the fuck-!?" she gasped, bending to pick up her Butterbeer and setting it down on her desk.

"Did you think I forgot?" Scorpius asked. "I did say I would tutor you in Charms, so here I am."

"It's a bit late," Lily said, heart still pounding, though not so much from fright now, and feeling distinctly flustered. Sure, they'd dated, and snogged, and hell, they'd had hot, sweaty, mind-melting sex together, but Lily had never had a boy in her bedroom before. And it was thoroughly disconcerting to have Scorpius there, especially as her parents assumed she'd be going to bed.

"Would you like me to leave?" Scorpius asked quietly, his dark grey eyes fixed on her hazel ones.

"No," Lily said, and pushed a nervous hand through her hair. "Um, I just… Never mind. Um, yeah. Yeah, let's work on Charms."

She moved to her bag, bending down to retrieve her text and the small assignment, as well as the large list of nonverbal spells her Professor expected her to have mastered. "Let's see what you've got then," Scorpius said, smiling a little, and Lily handed her stuff over. A blond brow lifted, because she was just standing there, still trying to comprehend that Scorpius fucking Malfoy was in her childhood bedroom, sitting on her fucking bed, looking up at her, smelling delicious and looking unbearably fit. "Are you going to sit?" he asked with amusement. Lily blinked.

"What?"

"Are you going to sit?" he repeated, smirking, and patted her bedspread. "Or do you plan on just standing there?" Her cheeks smarted, and Lily felt like an imbecile, but she sat, tucking one leg up under herself, and forced herself to breathe, even as Scorpius opened her Charms text and consulted the list of spells. She told herself firmly it was stupid, beyond idiotic, to read anything into this, because it was  _not_  a date, Scorpius was  _not_  into her that way, and she had ruined  _all_  hopes of dating the sexy blond ever again. But her stupid heart kept on hoping.

XXX


	20. Chapter 20

**Wish Upon a Star**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational drug use, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

The last few days of break seemed to fly by for Lily, and it was with a heavy heart that she repacked her trunk and got ready to go back to Hogwarts for the last term of Sixth Year. She reminded herself to be excited, because she'd have Pep Team to focus on, and she had done quite well on her homework, and would undoubtedly boost up her lagging Charms mark by the end of the first week back. But her heart was heavy, because she doubted, very thoroughly, Scorpius would  _actually_  come and visit her, even if only to continue tutoring her.

She had just put the last of her clean laundry away and closed the lid of her trunk when there was a knock on her bedroom door. "Lily, honey, are you ready?" her mother asked poking her head in. The younger redheaded witch nodded.

"I think so. Let me just make sure I haven't missed anything, and I'll be down in a second."

Ginny Potter paused, then moved into Lily's room properly. "What's wrong?" she asked with the infinite wisdom of a mother.

"Nothing," Lily sighed, getting up and glancing around for anything she might've forgotten.

"Lily," her mother chided. "You're normally excited to go back to school, and you look as though you're about to cry. What's wrong, honey?"

The redhead shook her head and opened her mouth to tell her mum again it was nothing and that she was fine, but the words wouldn't come. And then, to her horror she started crying. "I'm fine," she mumbled as her mother came over and hugged her tight. "I just… It's going to suck, the rest of term."

"Why?" Ginny murmured.

"Because I have to go back and Scorpius isn't going to be there," she admitted. "Which is stupid, but he's been helping me with my Charms, and, well…" she sniffled a bit. "It's just going to suck."

"It's only a few months, honey," her mother said consolingly and Lily sniffled again, then pulled back. "And you'll see all your friends again."

Lily nodded, wiping her face. "I know," she mumbled.

Ginny brushed the hair back from her daughter's face. "I'll leave you to your packing, honey." She turned to leave, and then added over her shoulder, "And it won't be as bad as it seems. If I know Scorpius, which I like to think I do, considering he's as good as my own son, you'll see him again before you know it."

Lily nodded, mumbled, "Thanks, Mum," and didn't see Ginny's pleased smile as she closed the bedroom door.

An hour later, Lily was boarding the Hogwarts Express, and although she still felt a little glum, she smiled and waved to her parents as the train pulled away from Platform 9¾. She found her friend Cheryl and her cousin Hugo in a compartment with the Pellard twins, and pasted on a smile as she Levitated her trunk up into the luggage rack. "Hey," she murmured, plunking herself down on the free seat between the twins.

"Hi, Lily," the identical blonde witches said in tandem. "Good break?" Hope asked. Lily pulled a face.

"Yes and no," she admitted.

"How's Malfoy?" Hugo asked, smirking, and Lily shot her cousin a filthy look, because she did  _not_  want to think about Scorpius any more than she already was.

"Hugo," Cheryl said softly, giving him a chastising look. "Really? Don't be a prick." The dark haired witch cast Lily an apologetic look.

"It's fine," the redhead lied. "He's fine."

"I'll bet," Hope sighed with a smirk, and Faith rolled blue eyes. Lily smiled a little.

"How did your mum like Cheryl?" Lily asked her cousin pointedly. Hugo shrugged and Cheryl beamed.

"She liked her plenty," Hugo replied, and reached for Cheryl's hand. "Which I knew she would. What's not to like, right?" Cheryl smiled goofily, and turned Hugo's face to kiss him, and Lily glanced over to see Hope miming vomiting.

"I'm gonna go find Alfonso," Faith said, getting up and opening the compartment door.

"So you saw Malfoy over break?" Hope said to Lily after her twin had disappeared. Lily nodded, silently wishing her friends would stop talking about the blond pureblood who made her heart ache. "Was that weird?"

"Kind of," Lily said. She didn't want to say it had been downright awful when Scorpius had come to get her from Carmichael's, so she focused on the good parts of seeing him on break as Cheryl and her cousin, wrapped up in their sappy happiness kissed and whispered together across the compartment.

"Because you two split last year?" Hope asked softly, offering Lily some Bertie Botts' Every Flavour Beans.

"Thanks. And I mean, well, there was that," Lily conceded. "Not that we really talked about it. But mostly it was alright." She grinned. "I mean it was actually kind of nice, to see him," she gushed. "And it was really awesome, because he was having a laugh with my brothers, about how I can't fly, and I  _totally_  shut them all up by proving I could." Hope's blue eyes widened. "It was great. They just stared."

"Since when do you fly a broom?" Hope asked, giggling.

"Since Ev-MacDougall taught me when we were dating." She grinned, making a mental note to thank the tall, broad-shouldered Hufflepuff when she saw him, because it had  _definitely_  been worth all the fear and anxiety to learn after seeing Scorpius and her brothers' faces.

"And you didn't hook up with him or anything?"

Lily frowned, wondering if Hope was asking because of her reputation before break for hooking up with anyone and everyone. "No," she said, and popped a Bean in her mouth, then spit it right back out. "Ugh! That one was  _definitely_  soap flavoured!"

A few hours later, after Faith had returned and the lunch trolley had come by, Lily was feeling restless, so she got up to wander around the train for a bit. Just then, Matilda came in, looking disgruntled. "Potter," she said, looking grim.

"Matthews," Lily replied brightly. "Taking a Prefecting break?"

Matilda shot Hugo a dark look. "A brief one. We're a little short handed." Hugo rolled dark brown eyes. "Anyway, I have a message for you," the Prefect Sixth Year said to Lily, who waited impatiently.

"What is it?" Lily finally asked.

Matilda looked a little sour, which was a face Lily hadn't seen in awhile, then pulled a piece of parchment from her pocket on her school robes. "You've got a waiting list." She put the parchment into Lily's hand, even as the redhead looked confused, and then Matilda turned to leave the compartment again, adding over her shoulder, "And the Head Boy and Girl told me to tell you that even if you're sick, you have to do patrols with the rest of us, Weasley."

"What a pleasant visit," Cheryl drawled in the silence after Matilda departed.

"You'd think she wouldn't be wound so tight after hooking up with McEwan," Faith said, filing her nails.

Hope snorted. "Like they do more than hold hands," she scoffed.

Lily unfolded the parchment, and saw a list of half a dozen names, all boys, and felt her face going red. Apparently there were plenty of dudes at Hogwarts who'd decided, over break, that if she was putting out even just a snog and a fondle, they were interested. She crumpled the parchment and exited the compartment, feeling embarrassed and uneasy. Because while everyone assumed she'd come back the same person, Lily didn't feel like the same rebellious, rule-flouting witch she'd been the last time she'd been on the train.

There were plenty of whispers as she wandered down the train, and more than a few dirty looks from other witches as she passed, and Lily felt foolish. She'd tried so hard to make Aaron Worthington realize she'd have anything to do with anyone but him, she'd sold herself short in the process. And now the bulk of the school probably thought she was stupid and easy, because that's the girl she'd portrayed herself as.

But something had changed for Lily. Something, some part inside her, had realized she had more potential, more skill, and way more to offer than just a snog and a fondle and a good time in a secluded spot. And Lily wanted to be more than that. She was pretty sure it was because Scorpius had pointed out that she only had a limited amount of time to figure out what the hell she wanted in life, and while she still wasn't decided on a career, or anything like that, Lily knew at least part of what she wanted. She wanted Scorpius, wholly and completely, and she wanted to have the kind of lasting love for and with him her parents had.

She was just reaching the end of the train when she passed a compartment with the door flung wide, filled with guys from her year, all of them, she was fairly sure, from Hufflepuff House. "Oi, Potter!" one called, and she deigned to look round. "Looking for some fun, sweetheart? I'll have a go, if you have room in your schedule."

Lily's lip curled, even as the other guys laughed, Robert Robertson among them. "Yeah right," she scoffed. "I'd rather put my tongue down a loo than in your mouth," she shot back, and flicked her hair off her shoulder.

"Aw, that's not nice, Potter," the guy teased, chortling. "I could even put that filthy mouth to work on something else if you like."

"Sod off," she mumbled, and made to turn around.

The guy, who she was fairly certain was named Kevin Corner, came to the door of the compartment. "C'mon, Potter. Everyone knows you're easier than getting a Niffler to find a Galleon at Gringotts."

"What part of sod off did you not understand, Corner?" said a familiar voice from behind Lily, and she felt her cheeks darkening with her blush.

Corner merely looked up over Lily's shoulder. "Sorry, MacDougall, I didn't think you had dibs. My bad."

Lily bit her lip. "I don't," MacDougall said. "But you're being an arse and embarrassing yourself. Save it for your girlfriend, Corner. You know, that pretty little Ravenclaw you brought to our dorm just before break and professed your undying love for?" Kevin Corner's face flushed a blotchy red, and Lily took advantage of the stand off to slink away. To her surprise, MacDougall followed her. "Sorry about that, Potter," he said after Lily paused and turned to face him. His dark curls had grown out of their crew cut a little, and fell over his forehead adorably, his dark eyes still as soft and gentle as she recalled.

Lily swallowed. "No worries," she said lightly. "It's to be expected I guess."

MacDougall frowned a little at that. "Though, I'd have done the same for anyone," he qualified.

The redhead smiled. "I know," she said, because Evan seemed precisely the sort of guy who'd stand up for any young witch who'd been talked to as such. "Actually, I was hoping I'd see you," she admitted, and Evan's brows lifted. "Um, I know we're kind of...weird," she said, looking down, "but I just wanted to say thanks, for teaching me to fly a broom. I got to show up my brothers on break, and it was awesome."

He smiled, eyes crinkling at the corners when she peeked back u, and Lily smiled with him. "You're welcome, Potter."

"And I know you probably don't care, or want to hear it," she added, "but I really am sorry how things ended with us."

MacDougall shrugged his massive shoulders. "The world works in mysterious ways. I'm just glad you got something out of it."

Lily laughed softly. "Yeah," she murmured, and a slightly awkward silence fell between them. "Well I'm going back to my compartment. Um, see you around, I guess," she mumbled, blushing a tiny bit and pushing a hand through her mane of hair.

"See you around, Potter," he said softly, and then to her surprise, he hugged her. "And just for the record, I'm not mad."

"Good," she said, hugging his tempting warmth back. "And thanks again, MacDougall."

His mouth quirked up as she pulled away. "You can still call me Evan if you want."

Lily smiled. "Only if you call me Lily," she shot back, and gave a friendly wave before going back to her own compartment. And somehow it didn't bother her as much, the whispers and gossip she encountered along the way.

At last they arrived at the station in Hogsmeade, but Lily didn't spot Carmichael, and for a second wondered if maybe Scorpius  _had_  called the Muggle police on him. Then she shook her head, dismissed that foolish thought, and figured he was simply lost in the crowd toward the carriages that would take them up to school. Lily shared with the Pellard twins and, to her surprise, Alfonso Bonifacio. And Lily had to admit, he was just as good looking as his brother had been, but significantly less cocky, and he seemed to genuinely like Faith, which made her happy for her friend, and yet still the tiniest bit jealous.

By the time Lily got up to her dorm room after dinner, slipping ahead of the twins and taking several choice shortcuts upstairs after Professor McGonagall dismissed the school, only Matilda was present, and Lily moved to start unpacking, trying not to brace for an assault. "I have to tell you something, P-Lily," Matilda said firmly, and the redhead was a little shocked, but recovered quickly.

"Sure. I'm assuming you mean in strictest confidence?" she asked with a lifted brow and Matilda smiled a tiny bit.

"Of course, and which I expect you to uphold, because I'd kick your ass in a duel, Potter," the other witch said with supreme confidence. Lily was torn between scowling at the challenge and laughing at Matilda's language. The brown haired Prefect stopped smiling. "But seriously… I don't ever want to hand you a list of names that you're probably going to play at being a slut with again. I'm not your madam. And, well...you can do better, Potter, than a list of guys who are all hoping they'll be the one to get you to go all the way."

Lily stared at her for a long second, because if that was a real kind of thing, which she wouldn't find surprising, it was pretty bloody awful. "You're right," she finally said at last, her voice tight, and the redhead quickly turned back to her unpacking.

Matilda didn't say anything more, but exited the dormitory quietly, leaving Lily her organizing and thoughts. The former she accomplished with well practiced ease, but the latter were troublesome. Thoughts of Scorpius and those wonderful days on break where he'd taught her to Apparate and tutored her in Charms and nonverbal spellwork, and wondering what had changed between when he'd looked at her with borderline revulsion at Carmichael's and the last time she'd seen him on break, smiling and looking at her with pride after she made strides in her Charmwork. And that meandered into thoughts of Carmichael, and wondering if he was up in his own dorm in Ravenclaw Tower, stuck with Zipzer and the rest of them, which then lead to thinking about MacDougall in  _his_  dormitory, and she just felt tired.

At last the Pellard twins joined her, bringing their little sister with them, and Lily lifted a brow, because the twins looked furious. "Don't think we won't curse you, just because you're our baby sister," Hope said threateningly.

"I  _will_  curse you  _because_  you're my baby sister. You're supposed to be on our side. And if you're not with us, you're against us, and Mum and Dad will find out what really happened to your birthday money, brat!"

"That's not fair!" Charity whined instantly.

"Sister issues?" Lily teased, having been in the same position Charity was now in, with two older siblings swearing her to secrecy when she wanted to rat them out. Only instead of possible contact with the opposite gender, which Lily was assuming the tiff was about, her brothers mostly just tried to cause trouble.

"She thinks she can go blabbing to our parents about my relationship!" Faith snarled.

"I can," Charity said, even as both her older sisters pulled their wands out in an identical motion. "And I'm not afraid of either of you!" Although Lily noticed the younger girl looked distinctly nervous. She grabbed a sweater to go for a walk, her unpacking finished, and so she'd have deniability should the twins actually curse poor Charity.

"Or you could just blackmail them," she tossed out, and smirked, then waved, even as Faith called her little sister several unfavourable names. She breezed through the common room, but wasn't fast enough to avoid Aaron Worthington, who caught her up by the portrait hole, slinging an arm around her shoulders.

"Had a good break, Lily?" he asked, grinning. Hazel eyes rolled.

"It was spectacular until now. Stop touching me, please. Thanks."

"So what plan have you come up with next, Potter?" Worthington asked, removing his arm and narrowing his light blue eyes. "Going to snog another hundred desperate dudes in an attempt to convince yourself you're not even a tiny bit attracted to me?" He grinned as Lily shot him a filthy look. "Or have you realized I can wait until you've come to your senses?"

"I'm waiting for never, Worthington, because I don't give a flying fuck about you. And even if I snogged a hundred dudes, you wouldn't be any closer to being one of them. Seriously, you're wasting your time."

"Ah, so you're just going to pretend then. Well, give Carmichael my best."

Lily snorted, sure Worthington had meant to sound cutting with that remark, but she merely shook her head, because he sounded delusional. "Whatever," she snapped, exiting the portrait hole and heading down to wander around the grounds for awhile.

She purposefully avoided Carmichael's usual haunts, and didn't bump into him, because Lily wasn't sure how she really felt about Carmichael. He'd become a habit, a probably bad one at that, but she wondered if, just maybe, he had feelings for her. Not that she had them for him, or anything, of course. Not even a little bit. But she'd thought more, since arriving at school, about Rose's declaration she should try to avoid a messy entanglement with Carmichael when he was going to graduate in a few months and she'd come back, alone again, for Seventh Year. Because she reckoned her cousin might have a tiny point there.

She breathed out a sigh of relief when she got back inside, just on time for making the common room before curfew, and headed up the stairs. She bumped into Carmichael, almost literally, just as she reached the Fifth Floor corridor. "So your parents risked letting you come back to school?" he teased, smiling, and Lily licked her lips just looking at the piercing on his mouth.

"They did," she agreed, and smiled ruefully. "But I'm literally grounded until I turn seventeen."

Carmichael shrugged. "Good thing you're at school then, isn't it?" he murmured, descending to stand on the same step, one from the top, of the stairs as her, a hand moving around her waist. "What the parentals don't know surely can't hurt them. And they're awfully far away."

Lily laughed. "Yeah, but my dad is Harry Potter. He might be the saviour of wizarding kind or whatever, but he's also kind of paranoid. He gets weekly letters from Professor Longbottom."

Carmichael chuckled. "And yet you still fly below the radar, Potter."

Lily shrugged. "I'm going to keep trying to do that," she said, whatever it meant, but she was going to start keeping a lower profile.

"Wanna come for a smoke?"

She shook her head. "I'm going up to bed." She remembered she had curfew and cursed, because it was now only minutes to. "Fuck, I gotta go, I  _cannot_  get detention for being late for curfew."

She made to hustle up the stairs and Carmichael rolled dark eyes. "You're a dork, Potter," he called, looking after her as she started up the next flight.

"Get over it, Carmichael, we crossed that bridge  _ages_  ago," she teased. "Goodnight, tosser."

"'Night," he said, and Lily was too focused on getting back to the common room in less minutes than she thought physically possible to notice that Carmichael, instead of descending the stairs to go smoke a joint, watched her go up, brows pulled together ever so slightly, almost frowning.

XXX


	21. Chapter 21

**Wish Upon a Star**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational drug use, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

The next morning Lily woke refreshed and feeling fairly decent, considering she knew she had Charms later that afternoon. But got up and got dressed and she was ready for Transfiguration, and that was saying something. She met Cheryl on the stairs, heading down to breakfast, and noticed her friend looked glum. "Why the long face?" she asked. Cheryl pursed her mouth.

"Have you ever felt like you've got everything you could want, but there's still something missing?" Cheryl murmured.

Lily pulled a face, and said with as much sarcasm and as little self pity as possible, "Yeah, I've been there. That was pretty much dating MacDougall."

Cheryl rolled dark eyes. "You two were never a good fit, Lils. But I can see your problem. Not that mine's precisely the same." She smirked and Lily's nose scrunched.

"Gross, Graves."

"Sorry. Anyway, I was just… I dunno. Maybe I'm being paranoid."

Lily frowned, because that wasn't really an answer, but then they were passing into the Great Hall. They moved toward the Gryffindor table and moved to sit across from Matilda. "That's probably the least helpful statement if you wanted my advice, so I'm assuming you don't," Lily said to Cheryl as they sat. "Morning, Matilda."

"Good morning," the Prefect said distractedly, biting her lower lip and looking like she was trying to save someone's life she was concentrating so hard, a quill poised, her breakfast ignored, on the parchment before her.

"What are you doing? It looks hard. What is this?" Cheryl asked loudly, poking the parchment Matilda was regarding, right in her line of sight, being obnoxious on purpose and startling the Prefect from her thoughts, and Lily frowned at the dark haired witch, who barely smothered a laugh when Matilda glared.

"Prefect business!" the mousy-haired witch snapped. "Which means none of yours, if you  _must_ know, Graves! Leave off bothering me and go make out with your boyfriend somewhere," she spat. Lily's brows shot up, because that was an awful lot of venom, but when the redhead glanced at Cheryl, the dark haired witch merely lifted a brow.

"Hugo told me you and McEwan aren't together anymore. I'm sorry," she said softly, looking truly sorry for the other girl, and Lily looked back at Matilda, seeing her face go red.

"I am  _not_  talking about that, especially at  _breakfast_ , and least of all with  _you_ , Graves," Matilda relied, trying to sound as angry and derisive as before, but Lily found it fell a little flat.

"What happened?" she asked gently, but Matilda clammed up, shaking her head.

"No one's business. Just suffice to say it's in the past." She snatched up her parchment abruptly and left the table, and Lily had a sneaking suspicion their dorm mate might cry.

"Wow," Cheryl mumbled. "I honestly thought those two would stay together for, like, ever." She sent Lily a look that tacked on a silent opinion that neither were much likely to do better anyway.

"I feel bad for her," Lily sighed, and did. She'd been brokenhearted, and it sucked. Just then, dozens of owls began swooping in through the Great Hall, delivering mail of all sorts, from letters, to forgotten school items, to sweets. "Oh, post is in," she said, and although she knew it wasn't likely she'd get anything, she watched the birds swooping in anyway. To her surprise, a big, handsome screech owl landed directly in front of her, staring at her and hooting impatiently as she merely stared, a little shocked and a lot dumbfounded. The bird hopped forward, extending a leg imperiously, and Lily untied the letter attached, and offered the large owl some bacon. The bird declined, swooping away majestically in silent flight.

"Who'd you get post from, first day back?" Cheryl demanded.

"Dunno," Lily said, unrolling the tightly scrolled letter, and felt her heart leap, face breaking into a giddy, probably stupid looking, grin, and her pulse kicked into double time. There was only one person who made her feel like that. "Oh, um..." she said softly, because she felt a tad guilty for her own pleasant news after hearing about Cheryl's relationship disquiet and Matilda's break up.

"Godric, Potter, just spit it out, and stop trying to spare my feelings. I'm not a baby." Lily grinned.

"It's from Scorpius," she admitted, blushing a little, because she felt giddier and more excited than she'd ever felt receiving mail from him.

"Go on and read it then!" Cheryl said eagerly. Lily rolled her eyes, but read the little note from Scorpius.

_Lily,_

_Friday, six thirty. Meet me behind the Three Broomsticks. -S._

The redhead frowned, flipped the parchment over, but there was nothing. "Oh," she said softly, because that wasn't what she'd been expecting. She'd expected a proper letter, like the ones he'd sent while away, and yet there was still a burst of pleasure at the short note, because Scorpius, obviously, hadn't forgotten all about her, and wanted to see her again. Even if it was just to work on her Charms. The only problem was, Lily had no idea  _how_  she was going to do it. She'd never snuck out of school before! And if she got caught, she'd be in so much trouble, it wouldn't even be funny looking back. But Lily couldn't help but start thinking about ways to sneak out of the castle and grounds to go meet up with Scorpius, even as she headed to Transfiguration with Cheryl.

By the time dinner rolled around, Lily was looking forward to the end of the day when she could crawl into bed and forget all about how awful her morning and afternoon had both been. She'd turned in her Christmas Transfiguration homework and gotten her last assignment back, with an Acceptable grade, but a note beside it that stated her Professor 'knew she could do better' and 'expected to see her excelling once more next time'. And then had come Charms, where her homework from before break had come back, only half completed no less, with a failing grade. Of course, to top it off, her Professor had spoken to her after class about the need to 'start seriously applying herself' if she wanted to pass her exams.

And just when Lily thought it couldn't get any worse, she was reminded, by Kasey Michaels, they had Pep Practice that evening, which would take place in the pouring rain that had started as a drizzle late morning and steadily gotten worse throughout the day. All in all, Lily was half wishing she could go back to being on break, but managed to gulp down some dinner before going to work on her Arithmancy homework she had no hope of finishing before Pep Practice. Lily was searching for Matilda, who might be able to help her with homework, as she climbed through the portrait hole into the common room after dinner.

Instead, she bumped, almost literally, into Aaron Worthington, who was arguing with her cousin Hugo about something Quidditch related, as she looked behind her and walked forward after thinking she heard Matilda. "Shit," she breathed, because Fate obviously had it out for her. Worthington smiled at her, even as Lily grit her teeth into the semblance of a smile. "Sorry, my bad," she said politely, and made to move away, but then Worthington tossed a casual arm over her shoulders.

"No worries, Lily," he said, and although she hated him, the redhead took a deep breath of his cologne, unable to help remembering Scorpius, sitting her in bed, teaching her to wordlessly Charm her teddy bear only a few days ago. "A little birdie told me you and your little Pep Team have practice tonight. Maybe I'll come watch." He leaned in and said softly into her ear, "I bet you lot look fantastic all drenched while you prance around like sluts."

Lily grit her teeth, because that was just  _rude_ , and really, even if she was a slut, that didn't mean the rest of her team was! "Oh we do," she said, forcing a smile and looking up at Aaron Worthington's light blue eyes. "Too bad you got false information, though. We don't practice in the rain." She made to duck out from under his arm.

"Tsk tsk, lies, Potter?" he teased.

"Not at all," she said, and purposely roughened her voice a little, lifting onto her toes to add into his ear, "Merlin forbid we get sick before next game, right? No one would show up to watch you losers get stomped by Ravenclaw if we weren't a nice distraction from your shitty Quidditch Team." The redhead pulled away roughly, then patted Worthington's cheek condescendingly as he scowled. "I'll let you know when our next practice is, Worthington, so you can come and get some pointers on how to be a Champion." She left with that departing shot, and was tempted to go find Carmichael, if only to vent to him, but instead, resumed her search for Matilda. Rose might have been a bitch, but she was starting to think, at least when her cousin said fooling around with Carmichael would only delay her possibly having a relationship with Scorpius, Rose was right. Lily new that if she hug around Carmichael, she'd fall right back into her same pattern of not giving a fuck, but she didn't want that. At least, not anymore. She wanted to give a fuck about Scorpius, and she was afraid seeing Carmichael would ruin her chances of the tall, blond pureblood being interested in her again.

Lily spotted Matilda at last, sitting alone in the corner, her Arithmancy homework open, her eyes staring into nothing. The redheaded witch moved to sit down at the table with her dorm mate, and Matilda glanced up at her, as though in surprise. "Potter," she said softly.

"Hey," Lily replied, just as softly. "You looked like you were thinking about something sad."

Matilda nodded. "I was," she declared with the simple statement of fact.

"Were you thinking about when you broke up with Dave?" Lily asked quietly. Matilda looked down, and Lily feared her dorm mate and almost friend would clam up again.

"Yeah," Matilda finally breathed, and shook her head. "It was so stupid, but… I just… I let my pride get in the way, and I don't know how to fix it."

"That's a tough one," Lily said honestly, and sighed. "If you have an answer, let me know."

The mousy haired witch laughed a little at that, and Lily smiled back. "Sure thing. I mean, I want to talk to him, but I have no idea what to say. I can't change anything, but I want…"

Lily reached out and held Matilda's hand. "You can do it. You'll figure it out. You're the smartest witch in our year, right?" The other witch smiled, and sighed. "Besides, I'll bet you anything that right now, as we speak, Dave is probably just as mixed up about this as you are. And he probably wants, too."

Matilda smiled at that, and Lily considered her job done, and now wanted homework help. "Thanks, Lily," the Prefect said, and Lily smiled.

"You're welcome. And now I wanted to ask you about Arithmancy class today…"

Lily went down to the Quidditch pitch early for Pep Team practice, mind still buzzing with what Matilda had been explaining regarding their Armithmancy homework, and Lily still had no clue what half of her dorm mate said meant. She knew she'd never pass, and made a note to ask Professor Longbottom the next time she had Herbology about dropping the class, because she was wasting everyone's time, really.

She saw shadowy figures, through the downpour she had Conjured an umbrella to battle, practicing Quidditch on the pitch, although she couldn't discern which House it could be. Instead, she went into the girls' change rooms to wait for her team and get changed for Pep Practice. The rest of the girls slowly trickled down, until it was five to seven and they were all changed and ready, and Lily cleared her throat before addressing the girls. "Alright, bitches, listen up," she said, sounding eerily like her cousin Rose had the previous year. "We've got three practices before we play Ravenclaw, and I better see some hustle, or we're going to look like shit out there. And the fans are gonna need something on point to watch, at least between the gaps our House Team makes a mockery of playing Quidditch. We're the defending champs, and I swear to Merlin, if one of you lot fucks up, I'll cut you right off the damn Team. You know who you are. Now let's get out there and do a perfect routine, girls!"

Her Pep Team lead the way out of the change rooms and Lily saw, through the rain, the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team landing on the soggy pitch to listen to their Captain in a huddle. Lily frowned, then glanced at her watch. It was one minute to seven, when her training time would start, and she told her girls to move into position before stomping over to the Quidditch players still assembled, even as her watch announced seven o'clock.

"Excuse me," she said rudely, marching up to the Hufflepuff boys. "Can you lot clear out and go have your heart to heart in the change room? We've got practice."

The Captain, Henry Dawson, lifted his brows, smiling easily at her. "Whoa, don't get your knickers in a twist, Potter. We're going."

"Go faster," Lily snapped, and made to turn away.

"And unless I'm mistaken, there's nothing but a blank space scheduled after our session anyway. You want to kick us out? Book the pitch like the rest, sweetheart."

Lily turned back to assert her right to have the pitch, and inform Dawson the pitch actually  _was_ booked, thanks very fucking much! "Actually, Cap, they probably did book it," MacDougall said instead, and Lily glanced over at him in surprise. "I heard Potter writes her times in Invisible Ink." Dark red brows lifted with Lily's surprise, but she smiled at MacDougall.

"For once the rumours about me might be true," she said lightly, and glared at Dawson again. "I am booked in next, and it was written in Invisible Ink, so toss off."

Dawson pulled a face, but sighed. "Whatever, Potter. You lot probably need all the practice you can get, anyway." The Hufflepuffs cleared off, Lily flashing another smile of thanks to MacDougall, because that was twice now he'd stuck up for her for no reason, and she felt a surge of friendly affection for the hulking Sixth Year.

She turned back to her Pep Team and scowled. "Why is everyone standing around? Get to work, bitches, and let's see that perfect routine!"

The redheaded witch put the screws to her Team, forcing them to practice their moves until she felt they'd done them perfect enough, and then dismissed them, even as the rain began to peter off. "Jones," she called out, and watched the least enthusiastic member of her Pep Team pull a face before turning away from her two Fifth Year friends. "Let's talk for a second."

"What's up, Potter?" Annika Jones asked with a poor attempt at politeness.

"I'm great," Lily said. "What's up with you? You started out as one of my better members at tryouts, and since then you've been going downhill. I wasn't joking in the change rooms, Jones, I'll cut anyone who doesn't work their ass off. And we both know there's people who'd take your spot in a heartbeat."

The Fifth Year girl half glared for a second, then said, a little petulantly, "You're mean to us. We're all trying really hard, but it's never enough for you. And I have OWL exams soon, so no offence, I'm not going to sacrifice my grades for stupid Pep Team."

Lily nodded. "Fair enough. I get that it's hard to do Pep Team with OWLs looming, and homework and revision and all the other crap. All you have to do is tell me it's too much for you to handle, Jones, and you don't have to be part of the Team."

Annika frowned. "It's not too much!" she said defensively. "It's just a  _lot_. And it's not so much fun as it was at tryouts. All you do is yell and call us bitches."

Lily smiled. "That's because I get to wear the Captain pin. When you get named Captain, you get to shout and call people bitches. It's one of the few perks. And really, I get it, Jones. I did this stuff last year and got yelled at and called a bitch at every practice, too."

"It's not fair!" the younger witch whined.

"It's not," Lily agreed. "But I'm not about to throw away a Championship as Captain. So you're off the team." The redhead made to turn away to go get changed, but the younger girl followed.

"What!? Why?" she demanded.

"You don't want it bad enough," she said simply. "Sorry. I don't want to train someone who doesn't care about 'stupid Pep Team'. I'll find a replacement, so don't worry, Jones. And you don't have to worry about Pep Team screwing up your grades."

"That's not fair, Potter! I never said I wanted to quit! I'm just as invested as-"

"As everyone else?" Lily interrupted, stopping and turning to face the younger witch. "Then prove it. Show up next practice and work your little butt off, and prove that you care and deserve to be on my Team. Then, maybe, I'll think about keeping you."

"It's just Pep Team," Annika said sullenly.

"And some of us just take Pep Team seriously. History isn't going to remember you as the one who lost Gryffindor's Championship rule, are they? I doubt it. Me, however, they probably will if we lose. So if you're not with me, Jones, you're against me. Got it?"

Annika nodded, looking determined and Lily smiled. "Fine. But stop calling me a bitch."

Lily laughed. "Show me you're not a little bitch by kicking ass, Jones, and we'll see." She headed into the change rooms ahead of the younger girl, and added softly, so the others wouldn't hear, "But just so you know, we bitches usually win at this shit."

The next day was a little better for Lily, because although she had Charms first thing, she did well with her completely silent Locomotion Charm and then she had Potions, which, after sitting her OWL, she'd been consistently improving at, showing 'a distinct flair', according to Professor Specter, for the subject. Then came Herbology, where Professor Longbottom told them he would be pairing them off for their summer term projects. Lily expected she'd get put with Alexandra Vanderville, the other person at her grouping of desks, along with MacDougall and Robertson, and was utterly shocked, but oddly delighted, when her Head of House called out her name and then said, "You can pair up with MacDougall."

Of course, their class drew in a breath, at least those who thought Professor Longbottom's choice scandalous, which was most of the girls. Lily could, herself, all but hear the rumours now, but when she smiled apologetically at MacDougall, he merely shrugged, smiling back. And then Professor Longbottom finished pairing up his students and told them their summer term project was to grow a magical vegetable, from seed, to fruition, to be graded on their ability to nurture 'a plant that could very well sustain you, should you need to eat it'. Apparently he wanted them to realize their potential as self-sustaining gardeners. Lily privately thought she was as likely to be a farmer or gardener as she was the next Minister for Magic. Totally unlikely.

But she was glad she'd been paired up with MacDougall, because surely he would know, coming from a Muggle farm, how to grow food. Lily moved to talk to Evan about what they should grow, and saw a couple girls the next set of desks over start whispering behind hands. "You know, Potter, this is probably going to be the best gossip for a couple weeks, right?" MacDougall said softly in his lilting brogue as she moved to sit in Robertson's vacated seat, since he'd been paired up with a pretty Ravenclaw girl named Vanessa.

"Of course. They probably all think we're going to get back together or something, which is probably definitely not happening," Lily replied easily. "Sorry," she added when his brows lifted. "I meant-"

"You aren't wrong, Lily," he said. "We're probably definitely not getting back together." Lily smiled, because she hadn't meant it to be rude, but now that awkwardness was out of the way, and she knew Evan didn't really want to date her anymore than she wanted to date him again, Lily felt a lot more relaxed.

"Okay. So what do you think we should grow? I'm leaning on your expertise here."

Evan chuckled. "Who says I have any expertise?" he said lightly. Lily frowned.

"Didn't you say your parents are Muggles? Muggle  _farmers_?" she clarified.

"They are," Evan said, grinning.

Lily rolled hazel eyes. "So obviously you've got the edge on growing things, yeah?" she explained slowly.

MacDougall chuckled again, and Lily scowled, about to demand what the  _hell_  was so damn funny. "Not precisely," he said. "Aye, my family lives on a farm, and we're farmers, but we don't grow crops, Lily," he said patiently. Lily stared blankly back. "We grow cows."

"You grow cows?" she repeated, confused.

"Aye. We're cattle farmers. We have cows, who give birth to wee little calfs, and we grow the baby calfs into fully grown cows, about a year or so, and then we send them off." Lily frowned.

"Send them off where?" she asked. "How is that farming?"

MacDougall merely chuckled again. "To be made into food. Hence why we're still farmers."

Lily's mouth dropped open. "That's horrid!" she said, feeling awful. MacDougall merely shrugged.

"People eat beef, Lily. It has to come from somewhere. And the cattle live an okay life, for the most part. They get to wander, and graze, and be cows. Or steers, depending. We're not a big operation."

"Still," Lily said, mouth turned down, because that was kind of a disturbing thought. That someone raised up animals to be killed for food, and while she still liked the thought of steak and kidney pie, she was a little saddened still.

"So what do you reckon we should try to grow, then, Potter, now that you know I'm lacking an edge on our competition?" MacDougall asked softly. Lily looked at him and then pulled her text toward them.

"I dunno. The only witch I know who grows their own vegetables is my Nan. Let's see what should be easy, and still get us a good grade."

By the time Lily got to dinner, she was, once more, looking forward to bed, but knew she still had Pep Practice that evening before she'd be able to crawl into bed and sleep. As soon as she sat down, beside Cheryl and across from the Pellard twins, she knew what the three of them would ask about her Herbology partner.

"Please tell me it's true," Hope said, sighing.

"Please tell me it's  _not_ ," Cheryl said, and looked critically at the redhead, who purposely chose chicken over beef for dinner. "Although I bet not. If I know you, Lily, you're not interested in round two with the beefcake."

Lily laughed at that, because now, knowing what kind of farmers MacDougall's family were, that term was a little macabre. "We're definitely probably not getting back together," she said. "Or wait, no, it was probably definitely not. Yeah. Probably definitely not getting back together," she said, and grinned. Hope looked put out, Cheryl grinned, and Faith's brows pulled together.

"Why?" she demanded. "No offence, but MacDougall is a  _nice_  guy. And you obviously liked him before, despite what Cheryl wants to think."

Lily took a deep breath, and looked down at her plate for a beat. "I did like him," she admitted. "I  _do_  like MacDougall." She sighed, trying to find the right words. "Obviously he's a nice guy, because even after I cheated on him, he wants to be friends, but I'm still in love with Malfoy." Hope and Faith had identical expressions of understanding. "And I want to be with him, so I'm going to try and focus on that."

And, of course, because Lily knew her closest female friend wouldn't let it lie, Cheryl said, rather pointedly, "What about Carmichael?"

"What about him?" Lily asked, trying to keep a neutral facade.

"Are you still messing around with him?"

Lily was tempted to say not yet, but she knew her friends would pick up on the undertones of that. But Lily couldn't deny, she'd sort of been hiding from Carmichael since coming back from break. She felt like a different person now, a better person, and she felt clear headed enough to be able to focus her desires. But she didn't know if she'd be able to resist Carmichael's nonchalant, lazy habit. He was a bad influence, and Lily, now that she'd been without him, didn't know if she would be able to resist his temptation.

And despite that, she still missed him, because he was her closest friend, one of her only confidantes, and, despite the fact she hated it, she felt like she owed him, because he'd been her stand-in Scorpius, when she couldn't have the real thing because he'd been off touring the world. In short, Lily knew that she  _had_  to see Carmichael again at some point, but she didn't much want to, and was almost afraid to, now that she had decided to end things, permanently and completely with him.

"No," Lily said at last. "I'm done messing around with Carmichael. I need to get my shit together, and I want to be with Scorpius." She couldn't help, despite her sure tone, the little sliver of fear that Scorpius wouldn't ever want her, and if she cut Carmichael out of her life, she'd lose him too, and be alone.

"Does he know that?" Cheryl asked softly. Lily glanced across at her, and her friend lifted her brows significantly, and glanced over Lily's shoulder. The redheaded witch turned around slowly, and saw Carmichael walking toward her, meeting her gaze levelly, dimple almost popping as he smirked.

"He will," she said, and stood up off the bench, leaving her dinner mostly untouched, just as Carmichael drew level with her. "Hey," she said, forcing a smile. Her heart felt heavy, but she pushed forward.

"Uh oh," he said softly, lifting a dark eyebrow over heavily lidded eyes. "You look like you're about to say something unpleasant."

Lily grimaced, and then grasped his hand, pulling him back out of the Great Hall. "I am," she said. Carmichael looked at her, even as they finally gained the Entrance Hall and Lily stopped walking.

"You're going to pretend break up with me, aren't you?" he asked with infinite wisdom.

Lily couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, actually," she said. "And for real break up with you, for whatever the hell we've been doing these last few months." Her smile faded. "I want to be with Scorpius, even if it's long distance," she said soberly. "And I don't think sleeping around with you is going to help the chances of that."

Carmichael pulled a face. "Ouch. So that's it then?" he asked.

Lily shrugged. "We can still be friends."

Carmichael smiled, but to Lily, it looked a little sad. "I'm not entirely sure we've ever been friends without benefits, Potter. But sure."

The redhead sighd. "This is kind of goodbye, then, I guess," she said softly.

Carmichael shrugged, and grinned wider. "Ah well. School's almost done anyway,and let's face it, I'm not about to be tied down to some clingy schoolgirl who happens to be a great lay."

Lily's brows shot up. "Rude!" she snapped, and shoved Carmichael, then hugged him. "You still have to sell to me, tosser."

"Yeah right, Potter," he retorted. "Tell your dorm mates to find the next guy. I'm fuckin' out."

Her brows shot up. "For real?"

Carmichael chuckled. "No. I just wanted to pretend to be a dork like you, Potter." He kissed her softly on the corner of her mouth, and she poked his dimple as he pulled back. "I'll sell to you when I get tits in return."

Lily rolled hazel eyes. "I'll tell them I'm out, then," she said, and turned to go back into the Great Hall for dinner. "Thanks for everything, Carmichael."

Carmichael lifted dark brows, but smiled. "You're welcome. Even if that's kind of a shitty goodbye."

Lily laughed. "Who says it's goodbye?" she demanded playfully.

"Like I said, Potter," Carmichael replied softly, "we never seemed to figure out the friends without benefits part. If you want to be with your golden boy, go ahead, but let's face it, you can't have both."

Lily paused on her way back to dinner at that, even as Carmichael kept going, because that meant it really kind of  _was_  goodbye. An early one, because he'd still be at school with her, but goodbye to him nonetheless, before he left at the end of the year. "See you around," she said, and although he didn't look back, Lily felt a strange sort of peace wash over her. She might still not have the slightest clue what she wanted to with her life, like Scorpius had suggested she figure out, but she at least had a clear idea of who she wanted her life with. And that felt like an accomplishment.

_Now all I need to do is figure out how to make Scorpius fall in love with me again_. Shit.

XXX

**AUTHOR'S NOTE** : Updates will now be coming on an as-written basis for this story. No, it's not finished, no it hasn't been abandoned, yes, I am still working on it. I happen to have a life outside fanfiction, and it's caught up with me recently, but I promise this will be finished. We've got another four or so more chapters to go before the end, y'all, so, if you like, stay tuned for them! And if you don't like, cheers anyway!


	22. Chapter 22

**Wish Upon a Star**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational drug use, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

When Lily woke up Friday morning, she was no closer to figuring out just how she would get out of the castle grounds undetected, or how, if she should manage that, get back in without setting off Merlin only knew how many alarms. She got a brilliant idea to sneak out of the castle, possibly during some kind of crisis, like a herd of desks attacking one another in the Great Hall, or something to draw attention at the very end of dinner. Then she could sneak out, and find a way to meet up with Scorpius. But who to ask to be guilty of causing her desired diversion? Lily could think of only one wizard she could trust enough and might actually do it. So she found Carmichael on break, and asked him to take a walk with her after lunch.

The dark eyed Ravenclaw, who'd looked surprised and questioning, why she was seeking him out after pretty much telling him she was done hooking up with, and probably hanging out with, him, agreed to meet her, and Lily tried to think positive, through the rest of her morning, about the coming evening. She met Carmichael, after sitting anxiously at the Gryffindor bench, playing with her food instead of eating it, then, when she saw, from her covert spying on Carmichael, him get up from lunch, she followed.

"I need a favour," Lily said without preamble as soon as they'd passed the front doors. Carmichael smiled a little, dimple faintly appearing as he turned to look at her.

"A favour?" he repeated.

"Yeah," Lily said, rolling her eyes. "A favour. Will you do it?"

"What is it?" Carmichael said automatically. "So I know what I might possibly be committing myself to beforehand."

Lily licked her lips, but pushed through the inherently awkward vibe between her and the stoner Ravenclaw now. The redhead had been putting in significant effort, both in class and out, to improve her grades, even if it wasn't nearly as much fun as skiving off with Carmichael. And Carmichael… He was the same as ever. And although she was positive she felt nothing other than amusement and lust for the dark haired young wizard, still, Lily couldn't help but wonder if she'd only ever been a convenience for him, as he'd sort of been for her.

"I don't want to tell you," she finally said, and Carmichael smiled properly.

"Yeah? And why is that?"

"Because you'll say no," Lily said automatically. But she was desperate, and desperate times called for desperate measures, after all. It was either ask Carmichael for help, half knowing what his price would be, to see Scorpius, or just not see him and owl him an apology, hoping to Merlin he wanted to risk meeting her again.

Carmichael's dark brows shot up at her honesty. "Probably," he said, and they stopped walking abruptly. "Tell me what it is, and we'll see for sure," he added, half smiling, a hand going around her waist.

Lily redhead sucked in a breath. "I want to sneak out of the castle. And I need a diversion to do that. A big one." Instantly Carmichael shook his head.

"The gates will be locked, guaranteed," he said, "and if you can get past them, which I doubt, you'll still trigger loads of security enchantments. The whole boundary is designed to keep the students in."

The redheaded witch glared at him. "How do you know?" she demanded.

"I read it," Carmichael said simply. "In  _Hogwarts; A History, Volume Two_."

Lily pushed a hand through her hair, feeling desperate. "Look, can you just let me try?" she sighed. Carmichael smirked ever so slightly.

"No."

Lily shook her head. "You're such a jerk, seriously. What's with your aversion to helping people?"

Carmichael grinned at her, moving closer, right up against her and directly in her personal bubble, and said against her ear, "Nothing in this life comes for free. I'm just looking out for my slices of pie."

Lily shook her head, because that sounded stupid. "Look, what's it going to take for you to do this?" she demanded.

"A miracle," Carmichael said, and kissed the side of her mouth. "Are you smoking a joint with me or not?"

Lily sighed, but shook her head. Because although part of her was more than tempted to get high and forget her troubles, if only for awhile, and relax, she knew it wouldn't last, and she'd want to recapture it with a vengeance. "No," she said lightly, and was pleased when he frowned at her. "I'm going to be a big dork and go work on my Charms," she said, and sighed. "See you, Carmichael."

"You're lame when you're straight edge, Potter," he said, even as she stepped away from him.

"Probably," she said, feeling even more pleasure that she got to stick Carmichael with his own barbs. She had to figure out her thing with Scorpius, if ever it was to happen before later in the evening when she was set to meet him, out on her own apparently.

Lily went back up to the castle, deep in thought, and, as was her habit, wasn't paying much attention as she wandered back in from outside, straight into the Entrance Hall busy with students going in and out from luncheon. So it wasn't at all surprising that she walked into someone, knocking herself out of her thoughts, the person she'd knocked into barely flinching as she fell on her arse, hurting her pride even more than her tailbone in the process. Because she could hear people laugh, and was certain she heard whispers around her, of people no doubt making some sort of comment about her, and she wanted to sink into the floor, almost as badly as the time in First Year she'd tripped coming in through Gryffindor's portrait hole, half the House laughing at her.

"You alright, Potter?" asked a soft voice, and Lily looked up in shocked surprise, because she was positive that was MacDougall's soft brogue, asking her if she was alright. She looked up, confirming it was indeed the tall, broad shouldered Hufflepuff, and her face went impossibly more red with her blush. Because now she was beyond mortified.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," she said, and even though she kind of wanted to just have a pity party right there, she accepted his hand and pulled herself to her feet. "Seriously, I just hurt my pride more than anything," she said when he looked at her with obvious concern.

"Sorry, I didn't even see you."

Lily shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention."

"What were you thinking about so deeply?" MacDougall asked, even as they wandered off to one side, to be out of the way of other students, the other wizards with MacDougall leaving them, half laughing, half irritated.

"Who says-?" Lily began, trying to sound innocent, but MacDougall chuckled.

"Give me some credit, Lily. I may be a lot of things, but I'm not oblivious. You were probably wandering on instinct, head down, thinking about something that's bothering you." Lily's brows shot up, because that was a pretty good analysis of pretty much exactly what she'd done. "Which begs the question," he said, smiling a little, brown eyes warm and soft as ever, "what were you thinking so hard on?"

Lily sighed, but, she was desperate. "I need the world's biggest favour, and no questions asked about why," she admitted. MacDougall's brows lifted a little.

"Is it illegal?" he asked.

"No," Lily said firmly. It was only sort of extra fucking not allowed to the point where it almost was. Hell, for all she knew, it  _could_  be illegal, but she didn't know, so she was going with no.

"What sort of favour?" he asked.

Lily shook her head, not wanting to ask MacDougall, because she owed him enough already, but wanting to see Scorpius, even if just for a second, even more. "You have to agree not to tell anyone, even if you say no," she said.

"Sure thing," he said easily.

Lily licked her lips, pushed a hand through her hair, and sighed, stalling. "Fine," she finally mumbled. "I need a big enough diversion to distract most, if not all, of the school, so I can sneak out and go to Hogsmeade."

MacDougall laughed at her, and Lily felt her temper flare, even as she scowled. "That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Christ, Potter, you want to sneak out, so you thought a huge diversion would help you?" he chortled.

Lily shot him a death glare that bounced off, because he merely chuckled again. "So what if I did?" she snapped. She wanted to grab her wand from her pocket and curse him, but settled for shoving against the solid wall of his chest. "A simple  _no_  would have been sufficient, Evan!"

He grinned, even though he'd stopped laughing at least. "If you wanted to sneak out, Lily," he said softly, lifting a brow at her, as if questioning her sanity a little, "why wouldn't you just use that map of the school you don't have? I've heard there's secret tunnels all over the place."

"I don't have a map of the school," she lied. MacDougall shrugged. "But if I  _did_ , it would probably be a great idea to look at it." She grinned hugely, then lifted onto her toes and hugged Evan. "Thanks a million," Lily said, pulling back, and MacDougall grinned.

"If anyone asks me, I'm not lying for you," he said, then waved as she headed up the stairs to her dorm to get the Marauder's Map. Twenty minutes later, she was, undoubtedly, the luckiest witch on the face of the planet. Because there on the Marauder's Map, were several secret tunnels, some inside the school, some in the grounds, and some with notes beside. Three were marked as blocked. A fourth was marked, by a simple  _NO_. But the one that Lily decided upon to sneak out was labelled, 'to Honeydukes' cellar'. Which sounded like, even if she was stuck down there, she'd at least have something to snack on, and she might even find the secret stash of caramel filled Chocolate Cauldrons.

So, at six o'clock, because Lily figured she'd be smart to give herself extra time, and after she'd gulped a hasty dinner, the redheaded witch was sneaking along the corridors to the entrance the Marauder's Map marked for the secret passage to Honeydukes', the statue of the One-Eyed Witch. She peeked at the Marauder's Map, inside the pocket of her hoodie under cloak, and saw herself in the passageway, beside the entrance. She blinked, and the there was a tiny word beside her on the Map.  _Dissendium_. Lily tapped the statue and muttered the incantation, and gasped as the witch's hump slid open, revealing a slide. "Holy shit," the redhead breathed, looked down the dark passage, screwed up her courage, and climbed inside, wriggling at little, because it was a bit terrifying. And then she let go, and slide down a dark slide, until her feet crashed into earth and she fell on her arse.

Getting up and cursing, Lily followed the passageway, heart hammering the whole time and for what felt like forever, and then, at last the passage ended and she got to an overhead door, with a convenient ladder leading up to it. She climbed up, opened the door, and found herself, if the delicious sugar, chocolate and various fruity flavoured smells were any indicator, in Honeydukes' cellar. "Holy Merlin, it worked," Lily breathed, because she could hardly believe her luck. She'd gotten out of the castle, and she was going to see Scorpius! In her excitement, the redhead hurried toward where she could see stairs in the vague part light from a window somewhere, and bumped into a box of something that thunked to the ground, heavily and quite loud. She winced, even as a light when on, and ducked behind some boxes as a door opened and feet came down the stairs.

"Show yourself!" a voice said, and Lily felt her heart all but pounding in her throat. "Do it now, or I start throwing curses next. I know someone's down here!" the voice said, and Lily heard the feet finish descending the stairs. "I warned you.  _Reducto!_ " the voice cried, and Lily saw a box to her left, about two feet away, crumble into a pile of smoking dust.

She stood up straight, arms in the air guiltily, and said, "Please don't curse me!"

Lily saw a young woman, probably late twenties, staring back at her. She had elfin like features, a slight build, and challenging posture. "Who are you, what are you doing here, and what the hell do you want?" the little woman snapped.

"I'm Lily, I'm here because this is where the tunnel brought me, and I'm just trying to meet up with this guy I really like, and kind of love, and I'm hoping he's going to maybe love me again." She realized how utterly pathetic the words sounded as soon as they were out of her mouth, and Lily blushed massively. "I mean-"

"How old are you?" the woman demanded.

"Sixteen," she admitted, and then added, for good measure, "and a half. Closer to seventeen, really."

"An underage runaway? " the woman asked, face registering shock.

"I'm not running away," Lily said firmly. "I'm going to go back to school. I just…" She realized it sounded stupid, but swallowed, and said the words aloud anyway, just in case this witch wanted to curse first and ask questions later. "I want to go see someone, someone who's not at Hogwarts anymore, so I'm just sneaking out for a bit."

The witch, with her petite build and stature, looked up at Lily as she approached her. "I should turn you in to the Headmistress, you know," she said casually, tapping her wand absently on her palm. Lily's hazel eyes flicked down to it, feeling afraid, even if she had her own wand in her jeans.

"Are you going to?" she asked, already cringing, braced for the inevitable.

"No," the woman said. "I remember being sixteen and a half, or even closer to seventeen, and wanting to sneak out of school to see my boyfriend who'd graduated the year before." Lily's mouth dropped open in shock, brows shooting up. "But, just a head's up, if he's anything like my boyfriend was back then, he's probably actually a douche bag." The woman arched a brow when Lily merely stared at her gormlessly. "Well? Are you going?"

"Wha-?" she began, then shook her head, cutting the word off, and pushed past the woman, because she was already late, and if Scorpius wasn't there, she'd probably cry in frustration.

"If you're not back by nine, I will turn you in, though, sweetheart," the woman called after Lily as she hustled up the stairs. And Lily didn't doubt the woman would follow through. But she'd have a couple hours at least, and that sure as hell was better than nothing.

The young redheaded witch hurried out of Honeydukes', jogging toward the Three Broomsticks, trying to stay in shadows, just in case. She slipped behind the pub, and her heart, buoyed up on adrenaline and joy, sank abruptly. Because the little area behind the pub was deserted. Tears threatened, but Lily blinked them back fiercely. She  _was_  late, after all, and Scorpius probably got tired of waiting, and-

"You came," said a voice from the deepest swath of shadow, and Lily literally jumped, whirling, hand pulling her wand on instinct, even though she was underaged, and she was sure she'd get in a world of trouble should she be caught using magic, outside school. And then Scorpius stepped forward, removing his Disillusionment Charm, and Lily gulped.

"That wasn't nice!" she snapped.

Scorpius shrugged. "I had to make myself scarce after Madam Rosmerta found me out back here twice."

Lily tried to be angry, but she couldn't help but smile as she looked at Scorpius as he approached closer still. "Well, here I am," she said, because the grey eyed blond, looking handsome and serious, moved right into her personal bubble, and her stupid heart couldn't help but hope he would kiss her.

"Here you are," he said, and looked like he was fighting an internal debate, one hand hesitantly resting on her waist. Lily licked her lips, sucking in an unsteady breath, and then Scorpius rumbled, "I'm fucked," before he pulled her close and crushed her mouth with his. Lily's heart all but soared, and even as he kissed her hungrily, she melted all over him, her arms moving with easy remembrance around his shoulders as his tongue pushed into her mouth. "Fuck, how did you even get out?" he finally rumbled as they broke apart, his lips searing a burning trail down her neck.

"The Map," Lily admitted. She was sure if Albus had told anyone about the Marauder's Map, it would be Scorpius. The blond pureblood looked surprised as he pulled back to look at her. "Yeah, you can say it, I'm a genius."

"I can't believe he gave it to you," Scorpius admitted. He shook his head, and then smirked, and the redhead groaned as his hands slid up her torso from her waist, over the swells of her breasts lightly, far too lightly, and up her neck to cup her face. "Lily," he said, then sighed, and put his forehead against hers. Lily tried to refrain from pouting that he obviously didn't want to kiss her. "I'm not going to lie to you, darling, I want you. I  _really_  want you. I want to Apparate us to my flat and have you all bloody night long."

"I have-" Lily began, but Scorpius kissed her again.

"But I can't." The redheaded witch tried not to feel her heart breaking all over again at that. "Don't get me wrong," he said fiercely. "I want to. Fucking Salazar's whore, I fucking  _want to_ , because I'm a greedy, selfish, glutton for punishment. I'd do it in a fucking heartbeat if it didn't make me awful. Which is why I can't."

Lily frowned, opening her mouth to demand he explain himself, demand he tell her what the bleeding fuck he was on about. Even if she felt like an idiot for thinking for one glorious moment nothing had changed for Scorpius and his feelings for her either, Lily wanted him to either make his point or bugger off. "Scorpius-"

"Look, I…" He shook his head. "I had this whole speech planned out, but all of it's fucking gone, because you're bloody gorgeous, and I've missed you so fucking bad this year, and it's not been the same. It's…" He shook his head and Lily frowned hugely. "I'm not in school anymore. I'm bloody eighteen years old. A fully consenting adult wizard."

"So?" Lily demanded.

"And you're sixteen, and still at school, and it's kind of technically illegal for me to do anything more than hold hands with you." Scorpius looked like he didn't like admitting that fact out loud.

Hazel eyes narrowed, because if this was his way of trying to let her down gently, she would curse him. "You were seventeen last year," she said, trying to remain calm. "Just as much of an adult wizard, and it didn't seem to matter so much if you did anything with me back then." Scorpius sighed.

"Lily," he said, and she hated that tears stung her eyes when he pulled her close once more, his long lean frame curving around her, his body heat warming her through, his scent bringing myriad memories to mind. She closed her eyes, wanting to hang onto that moment forever, and doubly so when his mouth brushed her ear. "I was still at school last year. It didn't seem like such a big deal." The redhead blinked her stupid traitorous tears away.

"So what then?" Lily asked, not caring that she sounded petulant, and almost like the child he was half accusing her of being.

Scorpius pulled her closer still, and Lily hated herself for it a little, but she clung to him greedily. It had been so long…  _So long_. And yet he was there now, and real, and solidly comforting, hugging her back. "So until you turn seventeen, darling, I'm not willing to risk my career, or more importantly your reputation, by doing anything that could have bad side effects."

"Except asking me to sneak out of the castle."

Scorpius smirked into her neck, then pulled back, and Lily bit her lower lip. "You'll be fine. Did Al give you the Cloak, too?" The redhead shook her head. "Selfish bastard. I'll see if I can nick it from him, and then you'll get out no problem." He paused, suddenly looking unsure. "If, you know, you still, erm, want to. I mean, I am still interested in helping you with your Charms, if you like," he said. "Your basic nonverbal spellcasting is much better, but your Counter Charms still suck nonverbally, Lily."

The redhead tried to breathe normally. It didn't work. "That's kind of rude," she said, even if she knew he was probably right. She hadn't practiced Counter Charms at all since she'd seen him last, either. "But alright.  _If_  you can pinch the Cloak from Al." Lily didn't want to risk expulsion by sneaking out any more than strictly warranted. But she  _really_  wanted to see Scorpius more often.

"Consider it done, darling," he said, and then, to Lily's delight, he pulled her close again and kissed her soundly. "How long do you have before someone will think you've gone missing?" he murmured.

The redhead bit her lip. "I have to be back before nine," she said. "At least, going back." She didn't mention her little run in with the petite and surprisingly cool witch who'd given her a free pass. Lily doubted Scorpius would like knowing she'd been caught, and she was too embarrassed to be forthcoming. Scorpius merely nodded.

"That works," he said, and although he moved away from her, making her joy flatten a tiny bit, there was nothing better, she was positive, than having Scorpius Malfoy kiss her like  _that_. Like she was his, even as he told her he was hers. It made her heart ache for him, and she knew leaving would be impossible, but she would enjoy the limited time with him. Even if she was probably doomed for expulsion anyway for doing so.

For the next couple hours, after Lily had Apparated Side Along with Scorpius to his flat, where they remained fully clothed and in the living room, she practiced her Counter Charms for a little, before they began to talk of other things. The young redhead remembered the summer after her fifteenth birthday, and how she and Scorpius would just sit and talk, and, like they had so many times the summer before, eventually they both fell silent, sitting on the window ledge to his fire escape in his Muggle apartment building.

When she looked at her watch at last, as the sun began to set in earnest, Lily noticed it was already quarter to nine. "I have to go," she said sadly, breaking the companionable silence. Their arms were touching, and their thighs whispered close together, and the redhead wanted him with a fierce, consuming hunger. It was more than her desire for Evan or Carmichael had ever been. It was the needing Scorpius to prove to her it hadn't all just been silly teenage hormones and great chemistry between them.

"Alright," Scorpius said heavily, and they climbed back off the windowsill, standing in the bloody hued light of the setting sun.

Scorpius grasped her hand to Disapparate back to Hogsmeade, but then Lily, feeling desperate for something more and having tried the entire time to work up her courage to say it, blurted unceremoniously, "I love you."

The blond pureblood smiled. "Good. Because when you turn seventeen, I'm going to do my damndest to make sure you know precisely how much I love you back. Thoroughly, and vigorously, and preferably often."

The redhead blushed, and then Scorpius took her hand, Apparated her to outside Honeydukes' Sweet Shoppe in the shadow of a large tree, pressing her back up against the rough bark. "I'm going to miss you," she breathed, kissing him hungrily as his mouth covered hers and then devoured it.

"Not as much as I'll miss you," he rumbled. Lily moaned softly, because she  _had_  to go, but she wanted nothing more than to stay.

"Write me," she said between fervent kisses, "a proper letter or two."

Scorpius pulled back to look at her, dark grey eyes shadowed. "You haven't read the last one I sent." Lily frowned a tiny bit, but then she peeked at her watch and saw she had only minutes.

"If I read it, will you send-?" she asked, stumbling over a tree root and looking down to right her feet as she slid from between him and the large maple. But when she looked up, Scorpius had gone, and she groaned, even as she hustled back into Honeydukes'. The little witch was waiting, a brow raised.

"Cutting it quite fine, aren't you?"

Lily tried not to scowl. "Um, I just…"

"I get it," the witch said, smirking. "Go back to the castle, sweetheart. And if you want to come through my Aunt and Uncle's shop at night like this on the regular, there'd better be some gold in it for me."

Lily's mouth dropped open again, but she snapped it shut, nodded, and headed back behind the counter and to the cellar. "Thanks for not ratting me out," she said, looking back over her shoulder. The witch grinned.

"Hopefully the school doesn't have any kind of security enchantments over that tunnel," she said cheerfully.

Lily frowned, but climbed back down, hoping to Merlin there wasn't anyone else, save those who'd taken a shifty at the Marauder's Map, new about the secret tunnels. She made her way back through the tunnel, and climbed out the slide to the castle. All was quiet, and Lily hurried up toward the Fat Lady's portrait, knowing she'd have to wake the stuffy old broad up, and get a tongue lashing for being out of bounds past curfew.

But up she went, through the castle, taking a couple choice shortcuts, and in no time was rousing the Fat Lady and giving the password. And while she got a sleepy, "It's awfully late to be disturbing me!" Lily got off otherwise scot free, and was thanking her lucky stars when she at last slipped into the common room.

It was all but deserted, and Lily made a beeline for door that lead up to the girls' dormitories. "Did you have fun, Lily?" asked a voice from a chair before the burned out fire, and Lily grasped her wand, biting back a scream and a hex, even as Professor Longbottom stood up and came toward her. "Come now, did you really think no one knew about that tunnel?" The redhead, who'd dropped her wand, felt her stomach drop. "The question is," her Head of House continued, "where did you go and who did you go see?"

XXX


	23. Chapter 23

**Wish Upon a Star**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational drug use, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

" _The question is," her Head of House continued, "where did you go and who did you go see?"_

Lily could only stare at Professor Longbottom for a long moment, warring with herself over whether she should lie, or tell the truth, or which would make her less in trouble. If she told the truth, she might be expelled. If she lied, and the truth came out, she would definitely be expelled. The redhead licked her lips and cleared her throat. "Um, I, er… I went…"

"Please don't be so discourteous as to lie to me, Lily," Professor Longbottom continued, frowning a little.

So Lily gulped and told the truth. "I went to Hogsmeade, to meet Scorpius," she admitted. "Scorpius Malfoy. He…" He pushed a hand through her hair, blushing, knowing she was about to get in a world of trouble. "He's been helping me with my Charms, and I went to meet him so I could, y'know, get help."

Longbottom was frowning at her when she peeked up at him. "And I presume you're aware that doing so not only places you in jeopardy," he said slowly, "but Mr. Malfoy as well, correct? That it in fact places a great many people in danger." Lily blanched.

"I-"

"There's a reason those tunnels are secret, Lily," her Professor said gravely. "If the average witch or wizard knew there were ways to get into Hogwarts, ways not bound by the same centuries old enchantments the rest of the entrances are, there would be an uproar. People send their children here because Hogwarts has a long history of keeping students safe, and you, tonight, have risked that, Lily. It is a serious breach of security that you not only snuck out tonight, but that you then came back in by the same means." The redheaded witch could only stare. "And you put Mr. Malfoy at risk because, as neither a parent, or guardian, or designated 'Safe Adult' in your records, if you'd been caught out of school grounds, he could face imprisonment."

"I'm sorry, Professor," she said honestly, tears filling her eyes. "I didn't think-"

"No, you didn't think," he agreed, then held out his hand. "Give me your badge."

Lily's hazel eyes widened. "What?" she whispered.

"Your Pep Team Captain badge. Hand it over. Now."

The redhead felt a shock jolt through her, knowing her Head of House was about to strip away the only thing she'd been serious about the entire year. The thing she'd taken grudgingly and now looked forward to. And the Pep Final was looming, there was no way her Team could compete without her! "Professor," Lily said, trying to sound reasonable. "I can't be kicked off Pep Team," she said, and bit her lip against the sting of tears. "Please, Professor, the other girls need me. The Pep Final is only like a month away, and they're not ready yet, and we still have to play Ravenclaw next week, and I doubt the girls are even ready for  _that_.  _Please_  Professor!"

Professor Longbottom merely stood there, looking grim, hand held out expectantly. The redhead felt as if she were about an inch tall under his glare. "The badge, Lily," he prompted when she stared at his hand mutinously.

"Who will you get to replace me?" she finally spat, wrenching the stupid badge from her robes and dropping it, rather rudely, into her Professor's palm. "None of the other girls are nearly good enough, and Hazel and Belinda already said no at the beginning of the year." She curled her lip, glaring up at her Professor, who didn't seem to mind her ire.

"Then Gryffindor won't have a Pep Team in the Final," he said.

Lily's eyes almost bugged out of her head. "What!?" she snapped. "No! Professor, you can't do that!" she said, even as he began moving toward the portrait hole. "Please, Professor, please, don't punish the other girls because I'm an idiot!" she begged. "Please, let them compete!" Her teacher simply walked away and Lily wanted to scream. And, for the first time in her Hogwarts career, she used the fact she knew her Head of House outside school to her advantage. "I know I messed up, Uncle Neville, but you can't punish the rest of them," she said, the tears finally starting in earnest. All her hard work, poof! Gone.

Neville Longbottom turned back to her. "You have until the Pep Final to earn this back," he finally said, holding up her badge. "I would like to see Gryffindor win as much as you, Lily," he said seriously, "but if you break the rules again, even so much as talk back in class, I can promise you, Gryffindor won't compete."

Lily felt like there was a tiny ray of hope at least, and nodded firmly. She would do it. She'd be bloody perfect if she had to, because she wanted to do her best at Pep Team, and the Final, and if that took pretending Scorpius didn't exist and ignoring Carmichael's very bad lure, she'd do it.

Professor Longbottom nodded at her, then turned back to the portrait hole. "And I'll be owling your parents about this, Lily." The redhead gripped her wand, telling herself the initial urge to jinx him would be a surefire way to get booted out of school altogether. So she bit her tongue and stomped up to bed, at last, unable to even properly bask in the feeling of Scorpius holding her, and kissing her that evening. She dug in her bedside drawer table for a midnight snack, as her dorm mates slept, or didn't sleep, depending, she supposed, because Faith's bed seemed empty, and there was faint giggling coming from Cheryl's, and her fingers brushed something smooth and hard.

Lily picked up the little glass Remembrall, the one she'd gotten for her birthday last year, and saw that it was half red and half green. She frowned, even as a smile started to threaten it. Because she couldn't, for the life of her, think about what she could've possibly forgotten, and she was unbearably pleased it meant Scorpius was remembering her. Or thinking of her. Perhaps, if she dared to even hope, remembering their time together and, like she was trying, the kisses they'd shared? Lily didn't know, but she hoped regardless, setting the Remembrall fondly on her bedside table, not even sure anymore why she'd stuck it in the drawer in the first place. She searched some more for her Chocolate Cauldrons she  _knew_  she had in there, and her hand brushed a folded stack of parchment. She pulled the papers out, and upon further inspection, realized it was her letters from Scorpius. When he'd been away. And, right on top, the last letter he'd sent, the one she still hadn't read.

Her hands hesitated as she moved to automatically open it. Should she? It seemed like it had been so long ago that he'd sent it. And then she heard Scorpius say again, when she'd requested earlier that evening that he write, that she hadn't bothered reading the last missive he'd sent. With that the redhead tore the letter open and pulled out the single sheet of thick parchment that bore the Malfoy family crest at the top.

_Dear Lily,_

_I expect by the time you read this, if ever you do, you've forgiven me for that unfortunate incident in Amsterdam. If not, let me say, again, that not only do I wish I'd never sent that bloody letter in the first place, but I've regretted, impossibly, ever snogging that bint in the first place. Even more now than before, if possible. You're probably wondering why I even bothered writing at all, if I know that lovely mind of yours at all. (I like to think I do, but maybe not so much as I'd like to believe)._

_And since there's no nice way to put this, I'm writing because I'll be coming back, rather soon I expect, to England to stay. It's come to my attention recently that my mother's health is failing, and while the Healers at St. Mungo's are 'cautiously optimistic' about her condition, Father doesn't think Mother will be long for this world. And after coming to terms with that startling revelation, which I don't suppose I even fully have yet, one thing has become apparent. I don't want to live without you._

_All the things you told me at the end of our last term at Hogwarts, how you didn't want to hold me back, or that it would be too difficult to maintain a relationship long distance, none of it matters anymore. I've realized I want you to be the one witch for me, and even if it means losing you like my father is going to lose the love of his life, I'll do whatever it takes to make you happy because I'm in love with you, and never stopped. Even if, for right now, that means sodding off. And if you want me to be your wizard, despite all the very valid reasons you listed when you dumped me, all you have to do is reply back._

_Forever yours,_

_Scorpius_

Lily could only stare at the familiar handwriting, the words echoing through her consciousness. All this time, all these stupid months she'd wasted, thinking Scorpius hated her, when, in reality, he'd probably been just as cut up over the state of their non relationship as she'd been. Had he gone and made foolish mistakes, though, and slept around? No, he hadn't. Well, not really, at least. Lily felt shame welling up inside her.

All the time she'd been telling herself not to hope for anything from Scorpius, he'd been patiently waiting for her to grow up and stop being mad at him for being a human being. And all that time, Lily had rebelled and acted out, and degraded herself, because she was upset over something so silly. She wanted to curse herself for her own stubborn stupidity. She hastily grabbed a spare quill from her bedside table drawer, and an ink pot from her bag at the foot of her bed, and, even as she heard a clock chiming midnight somewhere, Lily scratched out a long reply.

It was quite late when she finished, having had to pause to cry at a few spots, but with her response carefully rolled and sealed and ready for sending off the next morning, Lily went to sleep, heart feeling light and buoyant. Scorpius still loved her, and even if he wasn't going to make any move to prove it to her physically, and she'd promised to be on her best behaviour for the rest of term, until Pep Finals anyway, and she still had things like exams to stress over, and the fact most of the school thought she was a slag, the redhead felt quite at peace.

The next morning came too soon for Lily's liking, and she was up with the sun, yawning as she shuffled down to breakfast in the Great Hall, having Pep Team practice at eight sharp but wanting to go down early, if only to map out her plans for their final routine on the pitch personally. She would still be the Team Captain, she'd decided upon waking, even if Professor Longbottom had stripped her of her badge declaring it so, and would put in whatever diligence necessary to get her badge back before the Final. She wasn't going to pout and mope about it, she was going to fix the problem.

After getting some waffles and a massive cup of coffee into her system, Lily headed out to send of her letter to Scorpius before going down to the pitch. The halls were, understandably on a Saturday morning, mostly empty as she made her way to the Owlery, sending off her post with the first owl who didn't glare at her when she asked if anyone was up to helping her deliver her mail. She watched the slightly small, dark coloured barn owl take wing into the early morning sun, and sighed. The weather promised a sunny, pleasant day, unlike the one before, and the redheaded witch merely sighed, looking out the open windows at the beautiful day unfurling before her.

"Well," she mumbled, "now it's time to get to work."

"Talking to yourself again, Potter?" asked a familiar voice from the door, and the redheaded witch jumped almost out of her skin in surprise.

"Carmichael!" she gasped hand going to her heart. "Fuck, you tosser! You scared the shit out of me!" The Ravenclaw Seventh Year merely smirked, and Lily hated that her eyes were drawn to where he nibbled his lip ring. "Isn't it a tad early for you to be up?" she teased. "Or let me guess, you haven't even slept yet."

Carmichael rolled his dark eyes, flashing a letter at her. "All in good time, Potter."

"Are you writing to your Gran again?" Lily asked, watching him whistle up to a large, grumpy looking grey owl, who hooted and fluttered down, landing on Carmichael's shoulder.

"Aw, you remembered. That's almost sweet, and definitely a little stalker like, Potter."

Lily rolled hazel eyes, but smiled. "All part of my charm, Carmichael, you know that," she teased, and moved to the door. "See you around."

"Is it true?" Carmichael asked. Lily frowned. "What everyone's been saying, is it true?" the dark haired wizard asked, and Lily's brows pulled together further.

"Is what true?" she demanded. She was getting awfully sick and tired of being the subject of so much Hogwarts gossip.

"You're hooking up with the troll again."

The redhead scowled, because that was still downright rude, and definitely not true about MacDougall. "No. We got paired up for a Herbology assignment, nothing else," she said. Carmichael grinned, dimple popping.

"Somehow I doubted it. You might be all straight edge now, Potter, but we both know you like getting your fair share of action with a wizard."

Lily shot him a filthy look, because she didn't want to be reminded she was still regarded as one of the biggest slags in school, and hated that everyone thought, because she'd been partnered with him for Herbology and they'd dated before, she would get back with MacDougall. Not only did she not have any interest, it was kind of insulting to the massive Hufflepuff that he'd date a girl who'd already cheated on him only because she was easy or good looking or whatever. "And, just in case you'd like to ever set the record straight, it's been narrowed down to precisely one wizard," she snarled, even though it wasn't Carmichael's fault she'd made the awful choices to slut it up in the first place. He was an easy scapegoat for her self disgust.

"Duly noted. See you around, Potter," Carmichael said, his smile softening a little. "And hey, just for the record, you might want to let Worthington know you've given up the life of a flirt. It's him that's been spreading rumours about you again, only now he's spinning it like you're fucking  _him_ , with your Hufflepuff troll as cover."

Lily felt shock and anger mixing in her churning gut, even as numbness stole over her for a brief moment. Then the redhead curtly nodded her thanks, and promptly stomped back to Gryffindor Tower, intent on finding Aaron Worthington and convincing the bastardly wretch, once and for all, that she'd rather off herself than touch him with a ten foot pole. She didn't acknowledge anyone who addressed her as she stormed back up to the common room, her fury multiplying with every step, even as she told herself to calm down. She wouldn't hex the bastard, even though he definitely deserved it, and she wouldn't get into any trouble. Not only was Worthington far from worth it, she had Pep Team to think about, after all. But her temper wouldn't be suppressed.

Lily stormed into the Gryffindor common room, hazel eyes blazing and chest heaving, and looked around, gaze narrowing on the motherfucker she wanted to curse into a pile of rubbish and stomp into the ground. Tears burned behind her eyelids and threatened to fall, but sheer willpower held them in. She would be mature about this.

The redheaded witch, her hazel gaze burning with fire and a deceptively friendly smile curving her lips, sidled up to Worthington and tapped him pointedly on the shoulder. He seemed to be talking to some of his Seventh Year buddies, but looked round at her, smiling winningly, then cast an indulgent smirk back at his mates before turning to face her fully, slinging a far too familiar arm around her shoulders. "Hello, gorgeous. What brings you to delight me with your presence?" the tall, detestably good looking young wizard asked. Lily's lip curled when his hand moved over her shoulder, massaging gently.

_Be the better person, because you can't lose Pep Team._  The internal reminder almost didn't work, but Lily bit her tongue on a hex at the last moment, looking away to resist temptation, and cleared her throat. "I just wanted to tell you," she replied loudly, far louder than was warranted, but wanting to make sure all Worthington's stupid friends, and whoever else believed she would sleep with him, could hear her. "That I've decided to exclusively date Scorpius Malfoy. Please leave me alone now, because I don't want  _anything_  to do with you." She lifted his arm from her shoulder and ducked away from him, smiling sweetly as he frowned. "Goodbye."

Lily turned away before her temper, raging to punch the bastard, or hex him, or at least give him a damn good set down, could leap out, feeling proud of herself. She knew she needed to learn discipline if she was ever going to master nonverbal spells overall, and the redheaded witch felt a little bit proud she'd managed to keep her cool.

And as she headed out of the common room with a slow smile beginning to unfurl on her lips, to go shout herself hoarse at her Pep Team, Lily realized she'd had the key to her problems all along. For the first time since she'd accidentally done nonverbal magic, she believed in herself that she could do it. That it was possible, and she wasn't 'never going to fucking get it'. And that feeling buoyed her spirits, making it all seem bearable, because if she could do bloody nonverbal spells, she could damn well do anything!

She got down to the Quidditch pitch to find Kasey Michaels making out with a guy Lily was fairly certain was a Seventh Year Hufflepuff on the Quidditch team, whose practice had apparently just wrapped. For a second, when she spotted MacDougall and his eyes found hers, she wondered what the gossips would say if they could see her now with her former boyfriend. She banished the thought as his mouth tilted up on one side when he stood before her.

"You look like you're in a good mood," he said with startling clarity. Lily laughed a little.

"I guess I am," she admitted.

"Good," MacDougall said, and then he looked sheepish, and Lily's heart sank. "Um, I kind of have some...not so great news." The redheaded braced herself, thinking he was going to bring up the apparent rumour they were back together again. "I went out to the greenhouses today, just before Divination this morning," he said, kicking the grass on the pitch absently with the toe of his shoe. "And… Well, you see, the thing is…"

Lily couldn't stand it. "What?" she demanded.

"Our plant looks like it might be dying."

Lily could only stare blankly for a moment, then vague understand began to seep in. Their plant. For Herbology. The term project they were supposed to be completing as partners. "What do you mean it's dying?" she breathed. That sounded like failing, big time. She felt panic rising. "How the hell can it be dying?" she asked, voice wavering a little. They'd put  _hours_  of extra time, popping by to visit the damn thing every spare moment they could, and even going so far as to occasionally taking it outside the greenhouses, oftentimes to classes that might allow it. Lily had even sung to it when totally alone, stroking the little seedling it had been fondly, until it grew and flourished. And now it was just going to bloody  _die_!?

MacDougall grimaced. "I have no clue. But, I mean, maybe it's just… I dunno. You know how that book said it could germinate with seed pods or whatever?" he murmured. Lily rolled her eyes.

"You remember how it also said that hasn't happened in, like, seventy five years?" she shot back. MacDougall blushed, and Lily sighed. "Look, maybe we're the luckiest people in seventy five years, but either way, we don't have much of a choice now," she mumbled.

They'd chosen the Magical Giant Yam, a plant that was relatively hardy, but often moody, going through spells of stasis in growth and 'plant depression' if it felt it wasn't being cared for optimally. But rarely, it would exhibit the same deterioration if the plant felt loved and wholly nurtured, when it was putting all its resources into flowering and germinating rather than growing a large, tasty yam. Or so the text their Professor had recommended had claimed. Lily doubted that would happen, because the plants were so notoriously moody and needy, most gardeners couldn't be bothered. Despite the bounty of harvest.

She decided she'd check on the plant herself, after Pep Practice, and pushed a distraught hand through her hair, good mood effectively terminated, just like her Herbology mark was soon to be. "Sorry, I don't mean to get so upset, it's just…" She sighed, feeling, for a moment, like just saying fuck it and slipping back into her attitude of not caring, but steeled the urge to take the easy way out. She'd fight for the damn plant if she had to!

"I know. It's kind of a little bit of a crushing blow, after all the damn care." Lily chuckled darkly.

"Professor Longbottom  _did_  warn us," she sighed.

"Well, since the other witches look to all be assembled, I suppose I should leave you to it. Have fun, and hey, don't worry, just think positive, and maybe we'll be the luckiest gardeners in seventy five years, okay, Potter?"

"Thanks, MacDougall," she said with a sad smile, then swallowed her feeling of ever getting her Pep Team Captain badge back slipping further from her grasp. She turned toward her team and forced a bright smile. "All right, ladies, hustle up, let's get warmed up." She saw Kasey Michaels, who was still half whispering to her boy toy, not hopping to it and cleared her throat loudly. "You too, Michaels! Kiss your lover boy goodbye, you know the rules!"

Kasey flashed Lily a grin, but dutifully kissed the wizard, who looked put upon, and then shoved him away, hustling back over to start the warm up with them. "Sorry, Cap, but Milos is distracting."

"Remind me not to book practice anywhere near the Hufflepuff Quidditch training, then," Lily said, and they all stretched out their muscles slowly.

"I thought you had a thing for Hufflepuff Quidditch guys, especially the ones who play Beater, yourself," Kasey added in a questioning whisper.

"Not really," Lily said lightly. "And if you're asking if I'm with MacDougall, you can tell anyone you like the answer is no. Neither of us are interested in making the same error twice."

Kasey looked a little shocked, but then grinned. "Really? 'Cause I bet MacDougall wouldn't mind, judging by the way he looks at you, hooking up again."

Lily shook her head. "Regardless, it's not happening," she said firmly, and then smiled a little bit. She didn't want to be with anyone until Scorpius would, and could, be with her. Even if her seventeenth birthday felt a lifetime away.

After practice, when Lily was getting changed, Kasey Michaels finally asked, sounding disbelieving, "So if you're not hooking up with MacDougall, who  _are_  you hooking up with?"

Lily smiled, because it felt nice to have something she didn't have to tell a soul about. "No one else's business," she said. Kasey lifted a brow.

"So no one?" she pushed.

"No one you know, I'm sure," Lily said firmly, wondering if her letter would have reached Scorpius yet. Wondering how he'd feel about what she'd written. And wondering if he would forgive her.

"Ew, it's not Worthington is it? I mean he's hot, I guess, but he's a little… I dunno, kind of a prick."

Lily glared with venom before realizing Kasey was probably just spouting gossip she'd heard without thinking. "No," she said darkly. "I'd rather be the subject of a new Unforgivable than hook up with that," she spat. Michaels laughed.

"Good. I mean, people talk, y'know, but I had a feeling it was just talk." Lily grimaced, but set to finishing her stretches. "Anyway, after dating Malfoy, Worthington would be like getting second place in the Miss Wizarding World Witch pageant. Close,but so not first place." Lily couldn't agree more.

By the time dinner came, Lily had continued to spread the word to anyone she passed that she'd rather drown than put any part of herself within touching distance of Aaron Worthington, and turned down two hopeful offers from a Slytherin Sixth Year and a Ravenclaw Seventh Year to demonstrate their ability to entice her more than Worthington could. She'd found that while she'd changed her tune regarding romantic interludes, and how she was no longer remotely interested, plenty of dudes still propositioned her for good times. And none of them seemed to remotely believe she was seriously no longer interested. It appeared that the bulk of the school still thought her a slut in the highest regard, and the worst sense, and she was obviously just being much more secretive in who she was fucking lately.

The redhead couldn't bring herself to care much, because she had her own problems to deal with. When she'd gone to visit the magical yam she was growing with Macdougall after Pep Practice, the poor thing had looked wilty and dejected, and the tips of the foliage were trimmed a thirsty brown. Lily had possibly gone into a state of shock, and burst into tears. Not only because her grades were sure to suffer more still, or because she doubted the lack of life from her Herbology term project for Professor Longbottom would earn her any points toward getting her Captain's badge back. She felt her eyes burning as the traitorous salt water trickling down her face because she'd kind of come to love that stupid Magical Giant Yam, and she'd even decided she wouldn't actually eat it at the end of term, or allow anyone else to either! And the bloody thing was trying to bloody die on her!

She rushed over to her plant, in it's hand-painted pot she'd done when they'd transplanted it a few weeks ago, and ran a delicate finger down the droopiest, most brown leaf. "Oh, Yammy," she sighed, and a tear dropped onto the soil. "Don't die. Please don't die. I know sometimes life is rough, and you probably get lonely here without any other yam friends," she murmured, "but I promise, if you just hang on to the end of term, I swear you can come home with me all summer. I'll hang out with you every damn day, Yammy."

Part of Lily recognized she was insane for crying over, let alone talking to, her plant, but she couldn't bring herself to stop. She wanted the damn thing to know how much she needed it, and wanted it, and bloody loved it. Another tear dropped into the soil. "I mean, if you're really not happy," she murmured, stroking the leaf again, then another, then brushing her index finger down the stem, "you can die. I want you to be happy, Yammy."

She wiped her face and treated her plant to some soil aeration, then a little drink, hoping to perk it up, and whispered goodbye before she left the greenhouses once more. Maybe MacDougall was right and they'd be the luckiest Magical Giant Yam growers in the last century or so to get their plant to flower and seed successfully. Even if she doubted it. Lily just hoped their Professor wouldn't ask them about it's progress next class and the damn thing didn't commit planticide.

The next morning dawned warm, and dully cloudy, and Lily sighed, because she had a tonne of homework she'd been too depressed to make much of a dent in the day before. And she had Pep Practice again that evening, although that promised to be slightly less depressing than her homework situation, if the Saturday practice had been anything to go on. The girls had all done well, and been focused, once Kasey Michaels kicked her boyfriend or whatever he was off the pitch, and Lily had been proud to see them at their best for the Ravenclaw game next friday after a shortened day of lessons. Then all she'd have to worry about would be their routine for the Pep Final.

Lily sat down beside Cheryl, with her cousin Hugo on the dark haired witch's other side, at the Gryffindor bench for breakfast. "Morning," she sighed, taking a stack of blueberry pancakes from the tray.

"Morning," Hugo said, through a mouthful of sausages and toast, and Lily curled her lip.

"You got mail," Cheryl said, looking smug, and Lily's brows shot up, following her friend's gaze to the little bundle with a letter attached to the top, between hers and Cheryl's goblets. "Open it!" her friend demanded, and the redhead chuckled, then picked up the bundle.

"It's polite to read the card attached," she said, breaking the seal on the envelope with indecent haste, stomach a riot of excited butterflies, making her breakfast dance in her belly. Within the envelope were three sheets of parchment, neatly folded, and all written upon in Scorpius's flowing, masculine hand. "Oh, it's a letter," she said with delight.

"Go on, then, open the gift," Cheryl begged, even as the Pellard twins sat down across from them, both blonde girls looking interested in Lily's mail.

Lily shook her head and looked at the letter instead.

_Dear Lily,_

_I hope you're reading this first. DO NOT open that parcel around anyone you don't want knowing about the Invisibility Cloak. It's only shoddily wrapped up inside, but at least I got it, and I know it will be in good hands with you. Owl me back when you want to test it out to come and meet me._

The redhead stopped reading, instantly grabbing the parcel and tucking it into her lap. "I'm not opening it," she said, looking up at her friends' hopeful faces. Lily didn't intend on anyone finding out she had a bloody Invisibility Cloak, but she knew, deep down, she couldn't risk getting found again after sneaking out. As much as she wanted to. As much as she knew the Cloak and the Map would help her be unseen this time.

"What!?" Cheryl squawked.

"Come  _on_ , Potter," Hope pleaded.

The redhead shook her head, hoping Scorpius wouldn't be disappointed when she wrote him back. But Lily had too much to lose if she got caught, and while Scorpius might be worth it, she'd never be able to explain to her parents, especially her mother, why she was still making such awful choices with her life. No, Lily wouldn't sneak out of the castle again, but, as she listened to her dorm mates talk about the upcoming Hogsmeade weekend, she felt a slow smile curving her face. She couldn't sneak out to Hogsmeade to meet Scorpius, but she was pretty sure a little rendezvous with him in the Shrieking Shack with the guise of the Invisibility Cloak would be manageable.

She hurriedly ate and headed back up to her dormitory to read the rest of Scorpius's letter and stash the Cloak. After tossing her letter on her bed, Lily unbundled the brown paper form the Cloak, and a her brows shot up. Wrapped, haphazardly at best, around the shimmering folds of the Invisibility Cloak, was a green and silver Quidditch jersey.  _Malfoy's_  Quidditch jersey, from his time as last year's Captain. Her hazel eyes darted back to the letter as a big, stupid grin formed on her lips, heart fluttering madly, even as her cheeks warmed with delight.

_In the meantime, there's something else to wear, if you want._

XXX


	24. Chapter 24

**Wish Upon a Star**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational drug use, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Lily posted off her letter just before lunch, then went down the the Great Hall, planning to check in on her plant for the partner-based term project, the stupid, half-dying Magical Giant Yam, after she ate. She had a feeling she might have to nick the bloody thing from the greenhouses altogether just to ensure it got enough love to stay alive until the end of term. Needless to say, Lily barely picked at her meal, worried about failing and the privilege of being Pep Team Captain being forever revoked on top of failing Herbology.

"You seem upset," Matilda said, after the redheaded witch exited the Great Hall, seeing her coming in a respectful five feet behind Dave, the wizard Lily was certain her dorm mate and one time enemy had been dating and still wanted. "Is everything alright, Potter?"

Lily sighed out a sound of weary confusion. She honestly doubted she was 'alright'. She was stressed, and tired, and had a full day ahead, and there was the inescapable truth that Scorpius, the only wizard she wanted to be with, wasn't going to be with her until she turned seventeen. It was maddening, but Lily understood, and could even, pragmatically, respect his decision.

"That depends," she admitted, but smiled as if it were a joke. "I'm sure I'll be alright. I just have a lot of things to juggle, I suppose."

Matilda smirked. "Let me guess; that's code for your little Pep Team thing."

The redhead pursed her mouth, but even though Matilda didn't understand the focus and dedication she put into her somewhat sketchy of late role as Captain for Gryffindor's Pep Team, she didn't snap back. "In part," she admitted, and smiled a little.

Matilda smiled back, and said, "If it helps, I think I might have solved at least  _one_  of your problems." Lily's brow furrowed, and Matilda looked quite pleased with herself. "I overheard Robertson, in the Library, talking about how you and MacDougall were going to fail Herbology, what with your term project looking dead and all." Lily's mouth dropped open, because not only was that kind of really mean, but she was terrified it was a more than accurate assumption. "Which made me wonder, although I've no use for the subject of Herbology personally," Matilda continued, "what you could do to help your project along. So I did some research," Lily bit back the urge to sigh, because she was sure she'd done all the research possible on Magical Giant Yams and how to keep them alive when they were determined to die, "in the Restricted Section."

That caught Lily's attention. "How did you get into the Restricted-?"

Matilda smiled, even as she dug in her book bag for something. "I have an agreement with Madam Pince," she said. "I do the filing and she lets me in whenever I like." Lily's brows almost shot off her forehead. "Anyway, I found this."

The redhead watched, her mouth dropping in slow motion, as her dorm mate and one time nemesis pulled out the slightly dusty, ancient looking book and held it out to her. It had been referenced dozens of times in the regular books in the Library, and Lily had wondered if the Hogwarts Library had even owned a copy of the rare tome.  _Herbert Wendell's Guide to Gardening_. It was the personal memoir of the last recorded gardener, and Herbologist extraordinaire, to ever grow a Magical Giant Yam with enough care to have the damned thing flower and produce seed pods. His plant, which had germinated rather well, was responsible for the last native Magical Giant Yam seeds in Britain, which had been multiplied and preserved with magic for the last several decades. "Matilda," Lily finally said, smoothing a reverent palm over the grubby, dirt and dust mottled cover of the book, "this is bloody amazing!"

Matilda beamed, looking pleased. "You're welcome, Lily," she said, even as the redhead hugged her friend impulsively. "And in return, I need a favour."

Lily's mouth parted in pure shock again. "A favour?" she repeated. Since when had Matilda ever used bribery to garner a favour?

"Yes, Potter, a favour," Matilda said with a tiny touch of impatience. "Do we have a deal? Or am I returning that book to the corner of the Restricted Section and making you plead with Pince to check it out yourself?"

Lily's brows shot up, even as she smiled. "You sound like a Slytherin," she teased. Matilda rolled her eyes, but reached for the book to take it back.

"If you're not interested in passing Herbology…" Matilda said, with a leading shrug.

The redheaded witch clutched the book closer. "You've got a deal," she said. "What's the favour?"

Matilda blushed, and giggled nervously. "Um, I need you to tell Dave something for me."

Lily wasn't sure she could be any more surprised than she'd already, but that request made her certain she'd finally broken through to Matilda's long-repressed girly side, and finally been rendered utterly speechless by the other girl. "What?" she said, hoping her dorm mate and one time enemy would repeat herself.

"I need you to tell him I said he was right. That he was right about…well, everything."

Lily watched Matilda hold her hand out to shake. "You want me to tell Dave you said he was right about everything?" she repeated stupidly, still shocked her once sworn rival was actually confiding her in her enough to trust her with, possibly, making amends in her former relationship. Mousy brown curls bobbed as Matilda nodded. "Sure thing," Lily said, still shocked and oddly numb, even as she felt a surge of hope she might not fail Herbology after all. Surely the man responsible for loving a Magical Giant Yam enough to have it create flowers and seeds, instead of produce, would have some tips on how to get the damn thing back from imminent death.

"Thanks, Lily," Matilda said on a gusty exhale, smiling once more.

"Does this mean you might patch things up with Dave?" Lily probed.

"I dunno, but hopefully," Matilda replied dreamily, and the two young witches grinned together. "Anyway, I'll see you in Arithmancy," Matilda said after sighing, at last going into the Great Hall to eat, and Lily waved as she continued on her way outside, to go find her stupid yam, and spend some time with it while she read up on how best to help the poor thing.

In Greenhouse Six, where classes were held, and their term projects matured and grew, or withered and died in Lily's case, the redhead picked up her little potted vegetable, the same plant they were supposed to be putting into the garden plot outside next lesson, and tried not to cry. It looked even more brown and wilted than her last visit, and definitely lifeless. "Oh Yammy," she moaned softly. "Please don't die. You'll be out in the sun in no time, and I know you'll love it, Yammy."

She didn't hear the door to the greenhouse opening, as she crooned and tried to sooth her plant, having flicked open the book and gone straight to the third last chapter.  _What To Do When The Magical Yam Chooses Death_. But after several long moments, she became aware someone was watching her, and looked up, mid-stroke on her yam's brittle stalk and mid-sentence about how the lovely little leafling needn't worry if it died, because she loved it regardless. And Evan MacDougall, broad shouldered and hulking as ever, smiling softly, brown eyes warm as he regarded her, stood there watching, a mere three feet away.

"Evan," she said, blushing in embarrassment. "What are you-"

"Same as you. I came to check on the plant, and try to convince the little blighter not to croak on us." Lily frowned a little, even as Evan smirked, coming to sit beside her. "What's that?" he asked before Lily could tell him off for calling Yammy a 'little blighter'.

"It's Herbert Wendell's Guide to Gardening," she said, withdrawing her hand from the plant to show MacDougall the front cover.

"Wendell," the large Hufflepuff said slowly, brows pulling together. "Isn't he-?"

"The last person on record to have a Giant Magical Yam go to seed?" Lily supplied, smirking as Evan's face became a picture of shock. "Yeah. One of my dorm mates found it in the Restricted Section and loaned it to me."

"What does it say?" Evan asked, leaning in closer, and Lily sighed.

"I've only just started reading, but it's got some good tips to help prevent suicide for Yammy."

Evan smiled down at her, his brown eyes crinkling around the corners, and Lily blushed at her slip. Great, now Evan knew she was crazy enough to have named their stupid plant! She just hoped to Merlin he wouldn't tell anyone. "What sort of tips?" he asked, reaching past her to very gently adjust the drooping stem of their plant, helping to prop it up on the little sticks they'd put in place to hold the damn thing up.

Lily looked down at the book, trying not ignore the part of her that wanted to hug her Herbology partner for not teasing her over her devotion to their project. "Well, there's a bit here," she tapped the page for reference, "about fertilizer."

Evan read over her shoulder, nodding slowly. "Aye, that sounds smart. I didn't know some plants preferred non-magical fertilizer. Longbottom always said dragon manure was best."

Lily smiled. "Same," she whispered, hating that the part of her that was tempted to hug her ex-boyfriend grew stronger. "I'm going to look over this book, and we can try some of these tips. Unless you-?"

"I've got free period, if you don't mind me reading over your shoulder and listening to you talk to a plant."

The redheaded witch blushed again, but sent the young wizard, who was smirking a stern look. "I'll have you know, it's been reported in  _plenty_  of books that plants enjoy being cared for, most especially nurtured through speech, including our yam, MacDougall."

"Aye, so I've read," he agreed, still smirking. "So if you hear me mumbling to the little blighter, don't mention it. Please."

Lily giggled, but nodded, and looked back at the book, shifting Yammy's pot closer to her Herbology partner, smoothing some brown leaves tenderly. "Not a problem," she said.

"And for the record, I've named our plant Yamish, so don't go calling him Yammy anymore." Lily couldn't help it, and burst into laughter, shaking her head, and MacDougall joined in.

"It's Yammy, Evan. And  _she_  likes it, so get on board."

The Hufflepuff sighed, rolling dark eyes, but leaned in to read over her shoulder. "Alright then, Lily," he murmured, and she saw, from the corner of her eye, MacDougall's large hand ever so gently stroking the stem of their yam. "She's wrong, but we don't have to tell her, do we, Yamish?" he whispered.

The second last Quidditch game of the season, the Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw match, that would determine whether Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff played Slytherin for the Cup in the final match of the season, dawned warm and sunny. Summer was settling in around Hogwarts earlier than normal, but when Lily got down to the Great Hall for breakfast, and saw the fast moving clouds scuttling past, she was thankful there'd be what promised a stiff breeze to cool off the crowd. There weren't very many others at the Gryffindor benches when she sat down, the hour still being distinctly early, but Lily felt anxious regardless.

She'd, in her continued quest to convince the insufferably persistent Aaron Worthington she positively loathed him for his manipulative attempts at wooing her, formulated a borderline scandalous plan for match that day. And now she was going to have to swallow a large dose of pride and put her ego aside to make the plan, which she'd only mentioned to her Pep Team the night before with mixed reactions, a reality. But Lily would do it, because she told herself she was brave enough to, and she wanted to assert herself as Captain, even though she still didn't have her badge back.

The redhead sipped her coffee and nibbled at some toast, even her anxieties mounted and she began to second guess herself, and then she spotted the person she'd been waiting for sauntering into the Great Hall. Courtney Delacroix, the girl she'd once almost dueled, thoroughly disliked, and who'd been named Captain for the Slytherin Pep Team that year, was surrounded by her usual group of snobby, beautiful girlfriends, as well as her boyfriend, the Slytherin Seventh Year Prefect she'd started seeing around Christmas, according to Lily's sources. The lovely blond didn't seem to notice anyone else's presence as she made a beeline for the Slytherin table, and Lily forced her quaking legs to push her to stand and walk forward with purpose toward the last girl she'd ever want to speak to.

She managed to stand right in front of Delcroix as soon as the other witch reached the Slytherin bench. "Delacroix," she said, hoping she sounded calm and cool and collected, even as she tried to smother her nerves. The blonde girl's lip curled as she stared up at Lily, pretty face marred by the expression.

"Ew. Can I, like, help you, Potter? I'm trying to have breakfast, and I'm losing my appetite with all the slutty-whore vibes right now."

Courtney's friends giggled cruelly, and the redhead grit her teeth on her fake smile. "I just wanted to ask you a quick favour and then I promise I'll take my vibes away from your breakfast, Delacroix" she said, refusing to rise to the other girl's venomous bait.

The blonde narrowed her eyes. "A favour," she repeated, and Lily nodded. Delacroix eyed her critically, then flicked her hair and put her hands on her hips with an impatient sigh. "Well?" she snapped rudely. "Get on with it, then, Potter."

The redhead's eyes darted to the other witch's gaggle of friends, all of whom looked on, as if waiting for the punchline. "I want to borrow the Slytherin Pep Team's performance uniforms," Lily said bravely, and gulped, cheeks flushing a dull pink when Courtney's friends laughed mockingly.

Delacroix didn't laugh, though, which made Lily remain rooted to the spot. Instead, the blonde witch seemed oddly thoughtful. "You think I'm going to let a bunch of Gryffindor sluts wear  _my_  Team's uniforms?" The redhead gulped and nodded, hazel eyes never wavering from blue even as the other witches giggled and Delacroix's boyfriend looked bored to tears. "And what's in it for me?" Courtney finally drawled, and her friends ceased giggling.

Lily gulped, firming up her severely lagging courage, and forcing a shrug. "What do you want?" she asked. Courtney smiled slowly.

"Throw the Pep Final," she said instantly. Lily scowled, opening her mouth to inform the other girl she'd rather chop off her own wand arm than do such a thing, because not only was she not that awful a person, it was also against the rules, and Courtney's eyes rolled. "Ugh,  _please_  don't get all passionately righteous on me, Potter," she said, holding up a hand and forestalling the redhead's words. "I'll settle for seeing your Pep Final routine."

Lily's scowl deepened, and the blonde witch beamed with smug cruelty glittering in her gaze. There was nothing about any one of the opposing Captains watching another Pep Team practising for the final competition, whether on purpose to steal moves or not, and nor was there anything in the guidelines and rules for Pep Team Captains blackmailing one another. In fact, the official rules really only covered the basic necessities for interactions between Teams. The redhead had a sudden thought, and sighed, because it was risky, but she didn't want to lose the Pep Cup to Delacroix of all people. "Alright," she said at last.

Courtney's mouth, quite comically, fell open in shock. "Really?" she said. Lily nodded for a third time, biting her lip even as she crossed her fingers, praying the other witch would fall for her ticky, decidedly Slytherin idea. "You got it, Potter. Now get away from me, slag," she said, with a dismissive wave, and Lily stepped aside. "The password for our lockers is 'purity'," she added under her breath with a significant eyebrow lift, and Lily smiled her understanding.

By the time she had gone down the to change rooms to get dressed, feeling weird as she slid into the Slytherin green uniform, Lily was certain she'd made a mistake. Her Team was going to flip when they found out this wasn't just her pulling an elaborate joke. That she was seriously going to ask them to wear another Pep Team's apparel. Everyone would laugh at her, and think her foolish, and probably take the mickey for the rest of the year whenever she happened to be out at break, or in between classes if she truly went through with it. Hell, she'd have done the same if she'd seen another team wearing Gryffindor's uniforms. But then a reassuring memory of a voice said, in the back of her mind,  _Who cares?_ And the redhead took a deep breath, even as Kasey Michael came into the change room. As Lily's most dedicated member, and also one of the more talented girls, Lily was pleased to see the witch from the other Sixth Year girls' dormitory. Until Kasey's mouth curled into a sneer.

"Oh shit, you were serious," she said, looking Lily over with distaste. "Do you really expect us all to just wear  _Slytherin_  colours?"

"No," Lily said. "This is a personal matter, so if you lot aren't on board, I won't force you to join me." Kasey's brow furrowed.

"But?"

"No buts," Lily said, smiling a little. "I won't even kick you insubordinate bitches off the Team for it. But I will make sure we practice in the rain next time the weather's shit."

Kasey laughed, then shrugged. "Alright, Potter. I'll wear Slytherin colours, but I expect to know why after the game."

Lily nodded, biting her lip, and the girls shook on it as the rest of the Team began trickling in.

Fifteen minutes later, after Lily's Pep Team had all donned Slytherin uniforms, and they'd stretched through their warm up and gone over, yet again, their routine, the redhead lead her teammates out onto the Quidditch pitch. The stadium seats were packed, and right away, Lily could hear the sounds of whispers spreading from those closest, and wolf whistles and jeers from those who'd spotted them. "Come on, then, girls. Into positions."

The crowd, seemingly louder than normal, had all eyes trained on Gryffindor's Pep Team as they lined up along the edge of the pitch, and Lily tried to block out the sounds of outrage from her own House.

"Well, that's a new one for the history books!" said the commentator over the din in the stadium. "Your eyes aren't playing tricks, folks, that's the Gryffindor Pep Team, alright. Looks like even the lovely ladies of Gryffindor aren't too keen on supporting their House in this game!"

Lily smiled grimly, even as Kasey elbowed her. "What?" she hissed, looking around.

"We should've worn Ravenclaw's colours," the other witch mumbled and Lily bit back a laugh.

"They don't have spare uniforms," she replied, even as the Ravenclaw Pep Team sauntered out across the pitch, looking at Lily and her Team suspiciously. The redhead waved brightly.

"Ladies and gentlemen, and Professors of all ages," the commentator said as Madam Hooch signaled for the teams to exit their change rooms, "let's give it up for the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team!" He called out names as the players came out onto the pitch, forming a loose semi-circle around Madam Hooch and looking with the same confusion over at the Gryffindor Pep Team. "And don't stop your applause, because here comes the Gryffindor Quidditch Team!" the announcer bellowed, the names of the Gryffindor boys falling with practiced ease as the team trooped out, smiling and waving. Lily cheered half heartedly with the other girls on her Team, and felt a pang of self consciousness as her cousin Hugo glanced over, then scowled at her.

She watched him elbow Worthington, beside him, and saw the Gryffindor Captain look round at them for the first time. Lily smiled widely, even as she and the rest of the girls cheered and shouted and jumped around with exuberance. Worthington looked at her with a dumbfounded expression for a long moment, and Lily winked, then turned and grabbed the jersey she'd brought out from the grass and slipped it over her head. It was Malfoy's old Quidditch jersey, his name in bold silver letters across her back, and then Madam Hooch was blowing her whistle for the Captains to shake hands.

When Lily looked round again, gesturing for her girls to get into position, Worthington had looked away at last, but she could see him gritting his teeth on a scowl. She beamed, because if that didn't make it disgustingly obvious, she didn't know what would. "Alright, ladies, let's go!" she hollered as the balls were released and the Quidditch players took to their brooms. The smug smile didn't leave her face throughout the whole game.

And, to put the cherry on top of her personal victory, it appeared the Ravenclaw Pep Girls were too confused or too intimidated to do as well as they normally did, and Gryffindor suffered a devastating loss. After she'd changed and was heading back up to the castle, still wearing Scorpius's Quidditch jersey, she was surprised to find her cousin Hugo fall into step beside her.

"Too bad about the match," she said brightly, resting an arm on Hugo's drooping shoulder.

"Too bad you're a bloody traitor," he growled, and sighed. "Was that necessary, Lils? Really?"

The redhead pursed her lips and forced a shrug, withdrawing her arm. "It worked, didn't it?" Hugo frowned. "I've told that idiot a million times to leave off bothering me, and talking shit about me, but he couldn't take a hint. I figured a bold statement would work best." She slowed her pace, and sighed. "I am sorry to see Gryffindor lose, but honestly, you lot played like shit anyway."

Hugo grimaced. "That's the worst part," he sighed. "We can only do so much, but it feels like Worthington had already given up after that first goal."

Lily threw her arm around both of her cousin's shoulders, squeezing gently. "You'll have another shot next year, Hugo," she said, trying to sound reassuring. The wizard snorted, but smiled a tiny bit.

"Yeah, true enough." Lily smiled and he rolled his eyes. "Then again, I'm hoping I'll be named Captain next year, and actually be able to pull together a decent team."

The redheaded witch beamed. "You will," she said. "And I promise to never wear Slytherin colours to a Gryffindor game if you're Captain."

"It's a deal," he said. "But just so you know, I'm going to tell everyone in Gryffindor not to go to the Pep Final to vote for your traitors."

Lily laughed. "Then you'd better make sure you buy me some Chocolate Cauldrons in Hogsmeade next weekend. And tell Rose you're the reason we lost."

Hugo's face paled. "Never mind," he muttered, and Lily laughed again. "You're going to Hogsmeade, then?" he asked. Lily nodded. "Are you going to meet Malfoy?" Lily blushed.

"I hope so," she said, wondering if her letter had reached Scorpius yet, even if she doubted it had. "We'll see. Either way, it's going to be nice to get out of the castle for a bit and just relax before exams and Pep Finals."

Hugo looked at her searchingly. "You really like him, still," he said softly after a beat.

"Of course," she answered. "What's not to like about him?"

Hugo shrugged. "It just seemed like you forgot about him this year. First MacDougall, then Carmichael…" He trailed off and shrugged. "Fuck, I need a drink and my witch this loss is making me turn into a sappy sod," he muttered. "See you in the common room, Lils." Lily rolled her eyes but nodded and Hugo hustled up to the castle to find Cheryl and some place private, she didn't doubt. The redhead thought about Scorpius, and found herself hoping he would be willing to come visit her at Hogsmeade next weekend.

She slowed her pace as she walked, wondering if Scorpius would be mad at her, and wondering if he'd even want to come meet her, and most of all, whether or not even Wendell's book could salvage her Herbology term project, and as she neared the front doors, bumped into someone from her lack of attention. "Oh, sorry," she said, and the wizard she jostled turned to apologize for lingering in the way of the doors. "Dave!" she said, laying eyes on Dave McEwan, who looked distinctly sad.

"Sorry, Lily. I shouldn't be standing here, I just…" He trailed off, eyes going past Lily's shoulder to where students still trickled up from the pitch, talking and laughing after the match. "You haven't seen Matilda, by chance, have you?" he asked, biting his lower lip adorably, and adjusting his glasses.

"Not recently," Lily admitted. "But I-"

"Can you, next time you see her, tell her something from me, Potter?" Lily blinked.

Dave looked at her with such hopeful anticipation, she found herself saying, "Yeah, sure." And then she recalled she was supposed to be telling him something, and added, "But I-"

"Tell her I was wrong. I was being an idiot, and she doesn't owe me anything."

"Dave," Lily began, smiling a little bit because she found it painfully adorable that both Dave and Matilda were too shy to just tell each other what they'd enlisted her to tell one another, and hoping to set Dave up with enough courage to just tell the girl he fancied his message himself. "Don't you think you should be the one-?"

"She won't talk to me," the wizard sighed, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Which I get, but I just want her to know that, if, y'know, she's interested in giving me another shot, I've learned my lesson."

"I still don't think-"

"Will you tell her, Potter? Please?"

The redheaded sighed. "I will," she promised. "But I have a message for you, from Matilda," she said. The tall, still slightly gangly youth looked at her. "She said you were right, about everything. So I'm willing to bet if you tell her your message yourself, she'll-"

"She said that?" Dave said, the look of shocked incredulity slowing morphing into a smile. "What else?"

Lily shrugged. "Nothing else, but like I've been trying to say-"

Dave's face fell. "If she wants to talk, tell her she knows where to find me," he said on a sigh, and then brushed past her. Lily sighed, but headed up to the common room to attempt to find her dorm mate and pass on the message she'd promised to deliver. And, Lily vowed, she'd tell Matilda after delivering it that she wasn't an owl, and wouldn't carry anymore messages back and forth like they were Third Years.

XXX


	25. Chapter 25

**Wish Upon a Star**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational drug use, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Three days later, Lily was coming into the Great Hall for a late dinner, after putting her Pep Team through their paces at practice, determined their routine would be perfect. As she headed toward the Gryffindor bench she was mentally cataloging the last bits of homework she had due before exams started on Monday morning, and half hoping Scorpius might have sent a reply to her last letter. She stopped suddenly lifting onto her toes to avoid crashing into the shorter, scowling blonde witch who'd planted herself directly before the redhead.

"Potter," Courtney Delacroix said, folding her arms. Lily took a tiny step back, even as she reached for her wand in her robes, and eyed Courtney's two girlfriends flanking their snobby blonde leader as they also reached for wands.

"Delacroix," she replied, narrowing hazel eyes suspiciously.

"Time to make good on your half of our deal, slag," Delacroix said, flipping her long blonde hair.

Lily gulped, and tried to avoid the task she'd all but pushed from her mind after the last Quidditch match. The agreement she'd share the Pep Final routine with her rival in exchange for borrowing the Slytherin Team's uniforms. "What deal?" Lily said, feigning confusion.

Delacroix wasn't buying it. "You know what deal, Potter. So unless you want to be accused of stealing, I suggest you show up on the pitch at eight thirty tonight."

The redheaded witch wondered if a stealthy Confundus Charm on Courtney would get her out of the unpleasant evening she'd just acquired, or at least cause the witch to forget what Lily was going to show her afterward, and nodded in mild defeat. She couldn't risk Professor Longbottom finding out she'd Confunded Delacroix if she wanted to maintain her Captaincy.

"Fine," Lily said as blonde eyebrows rose impatiently for Lily to both acknowledge their deal and make good on it aloud. "I'll be there," she grumbled, and Delacroix, with her two cronies, pushed past Lily.

"You'd better be," the blonde witch said dangerously as she breezed away, tossing her hair again, then added loudly, " _slag_. Salazar, I almost need a shower after being around her." The sidekicks giggled and Lily grit her teeth, walking stiffly to her dinner once more.

She slid onto the bench across from the Pellard twins and Bonifacio, the latter of whom looked at her curiously. "Why the hell is Slytherin trash talking to you?" Faith asked, lip curled.

"And what did Delacroix want?" Hope asked with an identical expression.

"Nothing," Lily said flatly. "I just agreed to give the poor things some tips for doing okay at Pep Final." Now even Bonifacio looked up.

"Why!?" Hope and Faith asked in harmony.

"You saw the last match. I proposed a trade for the use of their uniforms." She tried to portray a casual, aloof expression, but couldn't resist smirking, because she would tell anyone who asked that she was merely giving the other team tips to perform better in time for the Pep Cup Final. Even if she loathed the Slytherin Pep Team Captain. "And, you know, I think it's really quite  _brave_  of Delacroix, despite them being Slytherins, to be able to ask for help when she needs it." And even as the twins snorted, and Bonifacio looked like he was committing her entire spiel to memory, probably to gossip about later, which made the redhead witch wonder if that was the reason he was so compatible with her dorm mate in the first place, the redhead smirked.

Lily Potter knew she was many poor qualities. Being stupid, she reckoned, wasn't likely to become one of them again.

At eight thirty, Lily went down to the Quidditch pitch, knowing in her heart there was a very good chance she'd fuck everything up, but she swallowed thickly, and made sure her shoulders were set with natural confidence, her face betraying nothing.

"It's almost a pity I'm not going to tell everyone how you sold your own Pep Team out just to prove a point." Lily stopped about five feet away from Courtney Delacroix and her Pep Team. The redhead scanned the faces of the other girls, trying to discern, from her vague memories of the last Pep Final, if anyone on the Slytherin Team had come back from the previous year. She doubted it, but couldn't at all be sure.

"It's a pity it came to this at all, don't you think?" Lily said, arching a brow.

"Truly. Now, time to get to work," the little blonde said with a haughty sniff. She turned and looked at her Pep Team. "If you don't pick this up, I'll kill the lot of you," she said in a calm, clear voice. Lily's brows both shot up at the nods that followed. She had to do a helluva a lot more than threaten death on her own Pep Team, just for grudging acceptance. The redheaded looked back at Delacroix, gulping silently, once the Slytherin girls were in position, said a silent prayer, and nodded.

"Alright," she said, blowing out her nerves in one breath. "Pay attention, because I'm only doing this once."

Thirty minutes later, Lily, feeling hesitantly ecstatic that not only had everything gone to plan, and her rivals hadn't realized the little sleight she'd pulled, but Delacroix had even complimented the routine. It was true, but it was still nice to hear that Delacroix thought so. Lily hustled up to her dorm room, feeling superbly pleased, and set out to write her cousin Rose, who'd been the genius who'd come up with the routine in the first place. And, the redheaded witch was certain, her cousin would find endless amounts of joy in knowing the Slytherin Pep Team would, this year, be trying to use the Championship winning routine that Lily had memorized to perfection last year.

Her jubilant mood lasted until the next morning, making her smile upon waking, and she was in a decidedly good mood as she left breakfast and headed down to the greenhouses for Herbology. She moved immediately to where her term project with MacDougall would be, in a prime spot that got plenty of sun, only to find Yammy's distinct, hand painted pot missing. She frowned, looked around the rest of the greenhouse as the rest of the class came in and moved to their own plants, her heart slowly sinking. She looked everywhere, even around the feisty Devil's Snare that tried to cop a feel, but there was no Giant Magical Yam anywhere to be found. Lily looked round, to ask Professor Longbottom where her blasted plant was, and caught MacDougall looking confusedly around the place their plant had previously been. She made a beeline for him, hating that her good mood had been so thoroughly crushed in all of five minutes.

"Where's-?" the massive Hufflepuff began, brow furrowed quite adorably, but before Lily could respond, Professor Longbottom had arrived and called the class to order. Lily listened as their Professor gave instructions on how they would be, at last, transplanting their projects to the vegetable patch outside. Lily and MacDougall exchanged a look of anxious trepidation as they realized they would have nothing to do in the planned lesson with their little Magical Giant Yam no longer in residence in the greenhouse. The rest of the class broke off into their partners, going to collect their projects and heading out toward the vegetable patch outdoors, around the far side of Greenhouse One, and Lily bit her lower lip, trying to remain positive.

"Professor," she said, moving away from MacDougall to speak to her Head of House.

"Ah, Lily, I need a short word with you and Mr. MacDougall." Lily sucked in a steadying breath, and smiled weakly at MacDougall as he moved up beside her, reaching for her hand to brace for the notice that their term project had at last committed planticide and killed itself. The redhead found herself feeling distinctly thankful for that warm, rough hand entwined with her own, because she was afraid she might cry.

"Where's our project gone, Professor?" MacDougall asked, and Lily felt her heart drop as their Herbology teacher grimaced a little.

"I thought it prudent to remove your Magical Giant Yam from this greenhouse early."

Lily gulped and asked in a slightly shaky voice, "It died, didn't it?"

"No, it hasn't died," Professor Longbottom said, smiling reassuringly. "Come on," he said, as the two teens followed their teacher as he lead them out of Greenhouse Three, away from the rest of their class to the end of the row of magically climate controlled greenhouses, to Greenhouse Seven. Lily's confusion mounted, because, if she wasn't mistaken, the only things in Greenhouse Seven were so rare and/or fragile, only Professor Longbottom could undo the enchantments locking them inside.

"Professor, what's going on?" MacDougall asked, sounding as confused as Lily felt.

"Something, if I'm not mistaken, that hasn't happened in far too long." He opened the door, shooting both teens a stern look. "Your term project is at the far right row, right at the end, to get the best sunlight. Touch nothing else, and please don't go anywhere near the far left row." Lily nodded, her palms sweaty as they stepped into the greenhouse behind their professor, who lead them straight back to where he'd indicated their plant would be.

"Why did our yam get moved in here?" MacDougall asked, even as Lily tried to hold onto her anxiety, telling herself sternly they weren't going to fail if their plant hadn't croaked. "I thought this greenhouse was off limits to students until Seventh Year."

"Normally it is, but after checking on the class projects last night, I noticed something rather interesting," Professor Longbottom said, but then Lily stopped listening. She darted around her professor, spotting her plant at last, all it's brown, shrivelled and crunchy leaves looking sadder than ever, with a single green shoot sprouting from the center, sporting a distinctly round bud shape at the tip.

"Oh Yammy, I'm so glad you're holding on" she sighed, feeling choked up at the realization the little plant hadn't entirely died on her, and reached out to stroke the smooth green shoot delicately. And then, after she'd realized she'd just called her stupid Herbology term project by name in front of her teacher, her brain caught up with her. And she gasped, whirling around to see Professor Longbottom grinning at her.

"Is that doing what I think it's-?" MacDougall asked, looking flabbergasted.

"It's not," Lily whispered, eyes going wide. Professor Longbottom chuckled, still grinning, and nodded.

"It is. I'm not sure how you've done it, but it appears that you two are the proud parents of the first almost-flowering Magical Giant Yam this century."

Lily looked at MacDougall, mouth hanging open gormlessly, as he stared back with a similar expression. And then, before Lily had recovered, her heart thumping deafeningly in her ears and her brain scrambling to form coherent thoughts past the elation flooding her system, MacDougall smirked. "I almost don't even feel like saying I told you so, Potter," the hulking Hufflepuff said, his brogue roughening as he held out his arms.

Lily laughed, part in disbelief, part in shock, and mostly in relief she wasn't going to fail Herbology and be stripped for certain of her Pep Team Captain badge, and threw herself into MacDougall's embrace. "Holy fucking shit," she breathed, squeezing her ex-boyfriend tight as he laughed and swung her in a circle. "We did it," she said, tears pricking the backs of her eyes and cheeks hurting with the force of her smile as MacDougall stopped spinning her, simply holding her tightly against his large, solid, and delightfully warm person. "We  _did it_ , Evan!" she whispered, looking into his very brown eyes, crinkled as he grinned exuberantly with her, and for a beat, Lily was tempted to kiss him silly.

"You can't celebrate just yet," Professor Longbottom said, interrupting their little moment. Lily slid down the massive brunette wizard's front, and they both looked round at their teacher, Lily's cheeks warming to a lightly embarrassed, because she'd forgotten where they were, pink. "You two still have some work to go, certainly, until your Magical Yam is ready to bloom, but I have no doubts the two of you can coax it to completion." Lily bit back the urge to cry, even as the tears welled in her eyes. The relief and excitement was so potent it made holding her emotions in check a challenge. "And since I expect you'll be wanting to pop in and check on it, I'm giving each of you a copy of the key that will bypass the locks on this greenhouse."

Lily looked at the pair of keys, two identical brass numbers that looked like they would fit into just about any lock, and reached out to take one as Evan reached for the other. "Wow, thanks, Professor," Evan said.

"I'll expect them back at the end of the year, and if I find out you're abusing this privilege…" He trailed off and glanced pointedly at Lily, who nodded.

"We understand, Professor," Lily said solemnly. "And thank you."

"No, thank  _you_  two. With a specimen like this, you've just put the Herbology Department of Hogwarts in the limelight for the best of reasons. You should both be very proud of your work so far." He headed back toward the door, and Lily, whose cheeks were hurting with her smile, glanced across at Evan, who grinned back.

"I'm really glad I got you as my Herbology partner," Lily said, even as she lifted Yammy down from the table to sit with the plant on the floor.

"Me too," Evan said, settling down beside her.

The redheaded witch smirked. "And looks like I was right, too. You  _did_  have the edge over the rest of the class, even if you've only ever grown cows before."

"Oh yeah?" Evan asked. Lily's smirk widened.

"Oh yeah. You got paired up with me."

By Saturday morning, the redhead had managed to stop smiling nonstop, although she found herself dying to tell Scorpius all about her Herbology success that day, when he came to meet her in Hogsmeade, after agreeing to visit in reply to her last letter. Lily looked at herself critically in her mirror and sighed. She'd done her hair with unfaltering precision and patience, applied flawless eyeliner and mascara, and even slicked on that tinted lip gloss Rose had given her for Christmas that she'd only tried once before. Her berry red lips shone temptingly, tasting, she knew by licking them, as good as they looked, and she sucked in a nervous breath. It was the day of the Hogsmeade visit, the last one of the year, and the redheaded witch was equally excited and depressed about it.

She'd see Scorpius, and maybe more than just see him, at best, and get to renew her seriously depleted candy stash at worst, but the weight of her somewhat trivial teenage problems was a heavy burden for her young witch, and left her feeling inherently defeated. She was all but positive her plant and term project for Herbology was  _never_  going to flower, because the damn yam hadn't made much progress since she'd last peeked in on it, Professor Longbottom still had control of her Pep Team Captain badge, and there was a distinct lack of relaxation and stress relief in her life now that she'd given up her very bad Carmichael habit. Not to mention the looming Pep Finals that she wasn't at all certain her team could win, especially if Slytherin managed to pull off the winning routine Rose had crafted for Gryffindor's win last year. All in all, Lily felt completely contrary and unsettled.

She sighed at her reflection, put on a fake smile she convinced herself looked natural, and went down to the Great Hall for breakfast to start her day. She'd just sat down, poured a coffee and plated herself some toast and jam and a small bowl of oatmeal, when she felt a body sit down directly beside her. Lily didn't even have to look to know who it was. The distinct scent of her favourite wizard, who she knew couldn't be sitting beside her, was a dead giveaway. "Go away, Worthington," the redhead sighed in a grouchy grumble, and didn't bother looking over, focusing instead on distributing jam evenly across her toast.

"You're cruel," Worthington said softly. "You don't see what's right in front of you, and instead, you're spending your time with a stoned loser who thinks he's witty and would sell you out in a heartbeat."

Lily, who instantly bristled at the insinuation and lack of tact, and who tried to control her temper at the thought of Aaron bloody Worthington trying to imply she was still Carmichael's fuck buddy, couldn't stop her mouth from moving in response, even as her brain tried to to stop her.

"You've got it all wrong, Worthington," she sneered. "I'm not fucking Carmichael, or  _any boy_  for that matter, at the moment." Her mouth turned up into a very Slytherin smirk, lips quirking crookedly and looking amused. "I'm going to wait until I get to have the  _man_  of my dreams." She adopted a polite, if cool and slightly pitying expression. "You see, I'm in love with a wizard whom you'll never be, so it's time, I think, you moved on Worthington. Seriously."

She tossed her hair, trying to act like his wounded, cocky, and utterly loathed face that looked with desperate hope back at her didn't faze her in the slightest. Lily told herself she didn't feel pity the poor sod couldn't understand she wanted absolutely nothing to do with him, and focused in her loathing of his underhanded, sometimes scandalous, rumours. "Lily," he said, looking too patently earnest to be believable, and the redhead's nose wrinkled.

"I don't want to hear what you have to say," she said softly. "Seriously, Worthington, get over it. I don't  _ever_  have any intentions of pursuing you."

His mouth formed into a hard line. "I could be the man you love," he said in a a last attempt, Lily shook her head.

"There's only been one wizard for me, Worthington, since the summer before last year. And you're just not him."

"Malfoy's not the wizard for you, Lily," the blond haired, light blue eyed Gryffindor said.

"He is right now," she said simply.

The Seventh Year looked away, and they both pretended he wasn't a little devastated and feeling wholly stupid. "You're a fool," Worthington said, but to Lily's relief, he got up. "Malfoy's going to break your heart, just like last year," he said, and Lily, trying not to scowl, ignored him as he finally walked away. She wasn't sure if she felt bad for the poor wizard, one who'd longed for her affection to no avail, or whether she was afraid he might just be right.

She finished her breakfast in relative peace, lingering over her coffee in the hopes some of her friends would turn up, and just as she'd downed the last dregs, Hugo and Cheryl, holding hands, sat down across from her. "Going off to Hogsmeade, then?" she asked, because she was nervous, and Hugo and Cheryl looked far too delighted to resist annoying for a bit.

"Course," Cheryl said, watching Hugo piling food onto his plate, smirking ever so slightly. "And you? Aren't you going to meet up with Malfoy?"

"Yeah," Lily said, unable to squash the slightly goofy grin that blossomed over her lips. "We're supposed to meet at the Three Broomsticks for lunch." Lily couldn't help but glance at her watch, lower lip poking out in an almost-pout when she realized she still had three hours to go until then.

"Maybe we'll come meet up with you," Hugo said, mouth still full.

Hazel eyes narrowed but before Lily could tell her cousin to make sure he steered clear unless he wished to be on the receiving end of her Bat-Bogey Hex, Cheryl said, rather pointedly, "No we won't, Hugo." The brunet wizard looked sidelong at his girlfriend, who flicked her dark hair out of her eyes and smirked at him, then leaned in and whispered something in his ear that made Hugo's face go bright red in a telltale Weasley blush, and made Lily's nose wrinkle. She could imagine she did  _not_  want to know what her friend was promising to occupy her cousin's time with.

"Good," Lily said, when Hugo's face, despite the tips of his ears still burning red, split into a devious grin.

"I'm going to hold you to that, Cher," he said softly and Cheryl grinned back.

"Let's hope so."

Lily gagged silently and got up from the table. "Well you two perverts have fun defiling each other, and stay far,  _far_  away from me while doing it, please."

"Oh please, like you're not going to slut it up with Malfoy, bitch," Cheryl shot back, sticking her tongue out at the redhead.

Lily's mouth turned down at the reminder that she actually  _wouldn't_  be partaking in any pervert defiling the with tall, sexy blond. But before she could respond, Matilda slid onto the bench, looking like she was going to burst with excitement, and tugged Lily with surprising strength back down onto the bench beside her. "Weasley, everyone can tell when your right hand is under the table what you're doing," she admonished brightly. "And Graves, really? Letting a boy feel you up at breakfast? Get a room."

Cheryl and Hugo both gaped in shock for a beat, Hugo's face going red again, even as Lily burst out laughing, because the words were delivered without an ounce of spite, and with the utmost cheer. The mousy-haired witch turned to Lily and then Lily's mouth dropped open too as Matilda hugged her, tightly, and squealed a tiny bit in her ear. "Uh…" she said blankly, looking at Cheryl as if to beg for help. The darker haired witch merely shrugged bemusedly.

"I never thought I'd say it, but you're the best, Lily!" The redhead sucked in a shocked breath as Matilda released her at last, practically bouncing in her seat. "Seriously, I owe you, so if you need anything,  _anything_  at all, just let me know."

Before Lily could open her mouth to ask what had come over the normally reserved, and recently rather sour witch, Hugo burst out laughing. "That dog," he sighed with distinct fondness, shaking his head slightly. "We figured he had to be out with you again, when he didn't turn up in the dorms last night until right before lights out."

Lily's hazel eyes widened. "Merlin, you got back together with Dave!" she squealed, and Cheryl rolled her eyes as Matilda beamed impossibly wider. "Oh Matilda, that's great!"

"Well, not really back together. But we talked,  _really_  talked last night, and-"

"Come off it, Matthews. The bloke came back looking like he got ravaged by Devil's Snare," Hugo cut in, chuckling still.

Matilda shot him a narrowed eyed glare. "Puh- _lease_ ," she drawled, sounding like any other teenage witch, for the first time in Lily's memory. "Anyway," she continued as she turned back to Lily and Hugo's brows shot up, "we've decided to give things another go. A proper go, and…" She sighed dreamily, and Lily's grin widened. Cheryl mimed vomiting into her oatmeal. "He's going to come meet my parents this summer, and he invited me to come meet his as well," Matilda whispered, barely holding back another squeal, pressing her lips together.

The redhead hugged Matilda impulsively, glad she had made the attempt the previous year to befriend the other witch in her dormitory. "That's great, Matilda! I'm so pleased for you, even if I didn't really have anything to do with it."

"Thanks," Matilda said, jumping up from the bench again, eyes sparkling. "And you did everything, Lily, which is why I came to tell you first." The redhead followed her newest friend from the Great Hall, waving at Cheryl and Hugo, both of whom waved back, looking amused, and the redhead linked her arm through Matilda's. "Seriously," Matilda said once they'd left the earshot of others, both heading back up toward Gryffindor Tower, "I'm really glad you're my friend, Potter. Because without you, or your advice, I doubt I'd have even  _had_  a relationship, let alone a second chance at one. Outside of that little mistake last year, anyway."

The redhead grinned. "Then you're welcome. And you know what, I could use a favour." Matilda's brows lifted in silent question. "How would you like to ask Professor Longbottom to let me have my Pep Team Captain badge back?" she asked, wincing a little as Matilda frowned. Lily braced for the lecture on how the non-sport was really a waste of time and Lily was better off without participating, or maybe an interrogation as to why their Head of House had taken it in the first place, but then Matilda shrugged.

"Sure thing."

By the time eleven o'clock rolled around, and Lily had spent a good hour with her Magical Giant Yam, gossiping and nurturing the plant, which was still brown and dead looking minus the green shoot that hinted at the chance of a bloom, the redhead was ready to go to Hogsmeade. She walked with Hope Pellard, the blonde girl's twin a few meters ahead, arm in arm with her boyfriend, Alfonso Bonifacio, and listened half heartedly to Hope prattling on about how they'd had to bend over backward for their little sister Charity to hold off ratting them out for having boyfriends to their parents and how it was 'so beyond unfair'. In reality, Lily was trying to convince herself that it was alright if she would have a strictly platonic visit with the wizard she'd fancied for an embarrassingly long time because she wasn't yet of age. And that waiting would make it better when she finally  _was_  seventeen. And even if Scorpius only held her hand, and maybe kissed her chastely, because surely that was still allowed, it would be perfectly fine.

Except Lily couldn't stop thinking about her stint dating MacDougall. He'd held her at arm's length too, although for different reasons, and she'd… Well she'd gotten her jollies with the next available wizard after Evan had gotten her hot and bothered.

_Don't be stupid, this is nothing like that! You love Scorpius!_  She set her mouth in a firm line, pushing her doubts and fear aside, putting them down to nerves at seeing Scorpius properly, and not after sneaking out, for the first time in ages.  _And you've only got a couple months before you turn seventeen anyway!_

She broke away from Hope once they reached the village, the other witch wanting to go to Honeydukes', while her twin demanded they stop at Glad Rags first, and a silent and amused Bonifacio let them squabble. Lily, feeling a hundred butterflies taking wing in her stomach, made a beeline for the Three Broomsticks, pushing into the noisy, smoky pub, telling her stupid, hopeful heart to not expect anything. She was early, and she doubted Scorpius would be there yet, but a nice frosty Butterbeer would help alm her anxieties, or so she hoped, and she made her way toward the packed bar where an aging Madam Rosmerta was serving drinks to students and fully grown wizards and witches alike.

She waited for her turn to be served with mounting impatience, trying to avoid looking around the pub over her shoulder for the wizard she doubted would be there yet, and gasped as a warm body pressed close against hers from behind. The body was emitting a distinctly familiar scent that had her heart thumping and excitement pouring through her as a hundred butterflies in her belly multiplied to a million and sheer delight made her spin round, beaming.

"Scorpius," she breathed, looking up into dark grey eyes that captured her gaze, and felt a pair of equally warm arms sliding around her middle, pulling her closer.

"Lily," the tall blond with those entrancing eyes murmured. The redhead couldn't help but bury her face in his neck, holding him close, and reveled in the feeling of the only wizard she'd ever felt so strongly for holding her tight to him in return. "Godric, I fucking missed you, darling," he breathed near her ear, nose nuzzling the sensitive spot just below and behind it, and Lily jolted onto her toes, pressing herself more firmly to the hard, perfect planes of him. She slung both arms around his neck and, without thinking, tilted her mouth up and kissed him slowly, deeply, trying to convey without words how much she'd missed him in return, and how madly she adored him.

"Same," she breathed between hungry, passionate kisses, and then Scorpius tugged her impossibly closer, right up against himself and pushed his tongue into her mouth. She moaned softly, in the back of her throat, loving every second of being this close to the only wizard she'd been able to think about for the last year and more, the only wizard she'd ever truly fancied, and, most of all, the one man she'd do anything for.

When the blond at last pulled back, smiling crookedly, looking unbearably handsome and Lily tried to get her heart rate out of the red zone after that snog and being so close to him once more, she couldn't help beaming. "Have I mentioned how much I'm looking forward to your birthday?" Scorpius murmured, and Lily laughed softly, kissing him chastely.

"Same," she repeated, but before she could say anything more, and before Scorpius could say whatever he meant to as his mouth opened, she heard a distinctly male throat being cleared behind her. Smoldering grey eyes darted up over her shoulder and narrowed, even as Scorpius's hands tensed against her back, and Lily looked round over her shoulder at the distracting interrupter, scowling fiercely.

Behind her, looking sheepish but determined, stood none other than Evan MacDougall, and Lily was about to tell him to fuck right off, even if they were friendly now, but the tall, thick Hufflepuff said with hesitant excitement, "Sorry to interrupt, Lily, but...it's happening."

The redhead blinked, unsure for a beat, after her brain had been scrambled by the sexy blond pureblood still wrapped around her and his kisses, what Evan could possibly be talking about. And then it clicked and her mouth dropped open. "You mean-?"

"It's happening," MacDougall repeated, smiling a little. "Yammy's going to flower."

XXX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AUTHOR'S NOTE: I did try to get this out earlier, but with my oldest starting school, I kind of fell behind. Much love for waiting (im)patiently. And yeah, I know this is supposed to wrap up next chapter, but... Well it might be one more, plus an epilogue. Oops. ;) And for everyone who asked (and was heartbroken) I'm sorry, but we really ARE saying goodbye to Carmichael. At least for this fic... :O ;D Thanks for reading, and please stick around for the finale and epilogue!!


	26. Chapter 26

** Birthday Wishes Always Come True - Wish Upon a Star **

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational drug use, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

The redhead looked up at Scorpius, her fragile heart breaking she was certain, torn between wanting to stay wrapped up in Scorpius and the grand passionate love she had always harboured for him, at least since the previous year, and wanting to go be with Yammy. Which, she knew logically sounded obscenely stupid. A plant versus the wizard she hoped she could spend the rest of her days beside? It should have been a no brainer.

But Lily had spent literally _hours_ upon _days_ worth of time with Yammy in the last few months. And although she was certain she loved Scorpius more than some stupid plant, there was a very adamant, not to mention disgustingly proud, part of her that wanted nothing more than to shove Scorpius aside and bolt as fast as possible back to Hogwarts to see her Magical Giant Yam flower. “Scorpius,” she murmured, looking up into smoldering dark grey eyes that held her hazel gaze captive, trying to infuse the importance of this event into the syllables of his name.

The blond flicked a glance up, over her shoulder, at MacDougall, but sighed silently and smiled a tiny bit. “Go,” he said.

“I can-” she began, but the pureblood cut her off abruptly, pressing his mouth against hers once more.

“I’ll wait, Lily,” he said softly against her mouth, and Lily felt herself melting for one long moment. No man alive should be so noble, let alone a former Slytherin.

“I’ll come back, I promise,” she breathed, and hugged him as tight as possible, trying to sear the feeling of him against her into memory once again before she pulled back. Resignation painted her features for a beat, and she had to close her eyes against the striking, utterly handsome picture Scorpius made when she looked up at him, the background of the Three Broomsticks making him far too real, considering she’d barely seen him that year. “I just need to see this,” she said.

The blond squeezed her hand in understanding and then released her completely. “It’s fine. I won’t stand between you and your life, Lily,” Scorpius murmured, and her heart threatened to choke her as he added in a whisper against her ear, “I love you.”

“I love you,” she breathed, smiling giddily as Scorpius beamed at her, and she kissed him one last time. In the next moment Lily was turning away as Evan grasped her hand, and she hurried from the pub at her classmate’s urging, breaking into a jog to keep up with MacDougall’s long, determined stride. By the time she got back to the castle, having sprinted across the grounds, still clutching MacDougall’s hand in mounting excitement, and to the greenhouse, the bloom was in full, slow-motion swing. And Lily, gazing at her plant lovingly, felt tears pricking her eyes as her chest filled with pride and her heart lifted with joy, and almost missed Professor Longbottom telling her and Evan about the importance of their achievement, and mentioning that they would be featured in two Herbology magazine spreads, with photographers due within the hour.

Instantly, Lily’s heart sank. She was still proud of herself, certainly, and couldn’t wait to owl her parents with the news of her success, and yet part of her knew she wouldn’t make it back to the Three Broomsticks and Scorpius. And that was a bitter pill to swallow. She was positive he’d be beyond pissed at her for ditching him, and for a stupid plant, no less, but she resolved to owl him and tell him she wouldn’t be back.

“This is so exciting,” Evan said, and then squeezed her hand. Lily glanced across at him, reading the apology in his dark brown eyes, and sighed, pasting on a brilliant grin.

“I still can’t believe it’s happening, but it _is_ kind of exciting. Does this mean we aced Herbology, then, Professor?” Neville Longbottom chuckled, shaking his head, but winked covertly at the young redhead, which Lily took to mean yes.

After the very long photoshoot, and the even longer interviews with the people from Herbology magazines and the Daily Prophet, Lily and Evan were finally given leave to go up to the castle for dinner. Professor Longbottom stayed to finish up. “I still can’t believe we did that,” Lily said softly as she strode back up to the castle with Evan. “I mean,” she glanced over at Evan to find him smiling at her, “can _you_ believe it?” she challenged. “We just happened to be a good enough pair of gardeners to grow a Magical Yam well enough for it to flower, and most likely seed for the first time in three quarters of a century?”

Evan shrugged his massive shoulders. “Dunno. I mean it did happen, despite the odds, so I think it’s mostly sunk in now,” he replied, still smiling adorably at her. He squeezed her hand. “Thanks for being a great Herbology partner, Potter,” MacDougall added, and Lily’s hazel eyes rolled.

“You’re so welcome. I mean, really, without me and my unparalleled Herbology skills, where would you even be, MacDougall?” the redhead drawled in her best imperious, snobby tone.

“Maybe even better off,” he quipped back, and Lily laughed, then, as the reached the front doors of the castle, she turned and hugged the massive Hufflepuff without thinking.

“Thanks for being the greatest this year,” she whispered, and then pulled back, blushing hard, hoping Evan wouldn’t read anything into her hugging him.

“You’re welcome,” Evan said, then leaned down and brushed his lips over her cheek in a completely friendly sort of gesture, and Lily almost audibly sighed with relief. “And thank you, for being, despite it all, one of the best witches and coolest girls I’ve ever befriended.”

“If I don’t see you, what with exams coming start of next week and all, have a good summer, Evan.”

MacDougall smiled as they headed into the Entrance Hall. “Good luck with your Pep Cup thing,” he said, smirking, even as Lily felt her stomach roil at the thought. She _still_ had no Pep Team Captain badge, despite acing Herbology, and just wanted her team to do well in the Pep Final. “And I’m sure I’ll see you next year, Lily.”

When Cheryl asked Lily, five minutes later, why she was smiling, the redhead could only shake her head, because she was pretty positive MacDougall was right, she’d see him next year, and she was pretty positive they would remain friends. And so long as she passed exams, and did well at the Pep Cup, and heard back from Scorpius, of course, she’d be fine until then.

Lily woke up at three forty two on the morning of the Pep Final, unable to sleep a wink more, and once again consumed with the urge for her Pep Team to do well. She knew she would regret it later, but, feeling edgy and too awake, the redheaded young witch climbed out of bed, tiptoed into the bathroom, and tried in vain to relax with a shower.

By the time she was dressed, in her favourite leggings and Scorpius’s jersey, smirking a tiny bit in the mirror at the Slytherin green, she was on the verge of panicking about the upcoming event inside. Lily knew she’d prepped her team as much as humanly possible, even when she wasn’t bothering with going to class or homework, that year, and prayed like a running mantra in her head, that the girls would do well. She told herself firmly not to hope for another Championship, and barely allowed the thought to linger in her mind, but she would be satisfied so long as they didn’t come in dead last, so long as her team tried their hardest.

Eight hours later Lily was feeling far from edgy. She was downright panicking. They’d be going first according to the draw, and Lily could only pray they made a lasting impression. The girls, when she looked around the changing rooms at her Team, seemed equally nervous and determined, which was balm to the redhead’s nerves that they weren’t all going to wilt on her.

The only upside the entire morning was that when she’d finally ventured down to breakfast in the Great Hall she only picked at, Professor Longbottom had given her back her Captain badge and the shiny pin was now proudly displayed on Lily’s uniform. The rest, however, was far from ideal. There were catcalls and jeers from members of other Houses when she walked past to the Gryffindor table, more than one lewd comment from younger wizards who thought she’d ever be interested, and a smattering of threats from some other Pep Teams.

“Alright,” Lily finally said into the resounding silence of the changing shed where she waited with her ever increasingly nervous Pep Team for the call that would announce them to the stadium. The rumble of the crowd swelled as, presumably, the other teams went out onto the pitch and Lily knew she’d have to make her little pep talk count. “I’m proud of all of you girls this year. None of this is easy, and none of it is fun the first year, but you’ve all done me proud already.” The other girls huddled around Lily looked surprised and pleased. “Now show me I’m not a complete idiot for feeling it, and make me proud, bitches.”

“Let’s crush them, ladies,” Kasey Michaels said ruthlessly, and with a short nod, the girls filed out preceding Lily onto the pitch, in a roar of excitement from the crowd.

The next ten minutes went on a fast-paced blur through Lily’s mind. She barely even had brainpower left over as she threw herself into the routine to remember to smile, let alone remember any of the details of the performance. She recalled the crowd cheering and gasping at some of the more daring throws Lily had trained her girls to do, and her team mates behind and beside her a blur of red plaid movement. Other than that, Lily had absolutely no idea if they’d done well at all by the time the music faded and she, panting heavily as she posed with her Pep Team, felt a jolt of tension as for a moment she didn’t hear the crowd or the commentators. IN the next breath, it all came roaring in, and she blinked, smile faltering for a beat before she beamed at the six girls grinning and cheering with her.

“We fucking _nailed it_!” Annika Jones gushed, seemingly over the moon about how they’d just done on ‘stupid old Pep Team’

“You fucking bet we did!” Lily shouted back even as Kasey MIchaels half hugged her while jumping up and down excitedly. “Okay girls, let’s move this off the pitch!” she hollered and moved to the sidelines with the chatting, giggling, effervescent Gryffindor Pep Team in her wake.

By the time the other teams had competed, Lily’s forced cheer, and the adrenaline after competing and doing her damnedest to win the Pep Cup, had long since worn off, and the redheaded witch felt back to being nauseous and nervous in equal measure as she waited, ignoring Courtney Delacroix’s gloating smirk, for the results.

She’d seen the Slytherin performance, along with all the other Houses, when they’d gone third, and although Lily thought they did alright with Rose’s routine, the redheaded witch knew the song choice was definitely recalled by a few from the previous year, and without her cousin helming the Slytherin Pep Team for that routine, it had seemed lackluster. Lily also privately thought Courtney didn’t do nearly so well as she herself had the previous year, but that was also to be expected she supposed. “Alright, ladies and gentlemen, witches and wizards of all ages!” said the commentator, a returning Raymond Brown, sitting in the crowd next to his newly appointed sidekick Lacy Cooperstein. “It’s time to vote!” He went over the rules for the attending First Years, and those who may have not known before, and Lily tried to keep smiling naturally, even as fear began to creep in.

“We’ve all ooh and ahhed, so let’s get it started with,” Cooperstein continued smoothly, “with our votes for the glowing girls of Gryffindor!”

The redhead closed her eyes, unable to look, even as a cheer for their Pep Team erupted from the stands and the judges chuckled into their _Sonorous_ -enhanced microphones. She had no idea what the score was and she was half tempted to just hide the entire time, but forced her hazel eyes open, even as voting for the Hufflepuff Team commenced.

By the end of voting, Lily was thinking it would be close between Slytherin and Ravenclaw, but when Lily snuck a look at Courtney Delacroix, and saw her looking much less smug and more snotty as she glared back at the redhead, she felt her hope rise. And the girls around her who’d been far braver than she, certainly, seemed relatively confident.

Lily gulped even as Brown boomed, “And that’s the scores tallied!”

“Let’s take a moment to give _all_ the lovely ladies who participate in Pep Team and the Pep Cup a big round of applause,” Cooperstein said, and Lily was tempted to hex the girl. She wanted the results _now_!

The crowd clapped politely, the Headmistress nodded approvingly, and Lily tried to hold in the urge to scream. “Alright, alright let’s get on with it!” Brown said and Lily let out a breath. “In fourth place, with fifty seven points, the beautiful ladies of Hufflepuff!”

There was polite clapping and then Cooperstein took over. “A close finish between third and second, folks. In third, we’ve got one hundred and five points for the Ravenclaw! Which means in second place, with one hundred twelve points, are the multi-talented ladies of SLytherin House!”

“And in a landslide win,” Raymond Brown shouted over the din of the crowd that had already gone wild, even as Lily’s team mates jumped up and down excitedly and cheered and squealed, “Gryffindor takes home the Pep Cup yet again! With two hundred thirty one points, it’s the second year in a row win for the powerhouse Gryffindor girls!”

Lily couldn’t think. She barely even felt herself moving, and the screaming seemed to lessen when she looked out over the crowd, feeling a surge of pride. That she had _done_ it. When she’d hated the very thought of doing so, and only done so from necessity, but wound up loving it, she’d Captained Gryffindor into yet another Pep Cup win! She felt a slow smile spread over her face, even as Kasey Michaels shook her from the sudden moment of clarity, that she was completely deserving of all the good vibes in the world, because she’d worked her girls damn hard, and expected a lot of them, and they’d pulled through.

“Party in the common room!” the other Sixth Year girl shouted, and Lily beamed, linking arms with her and heading up to the castle, the Pep Cup hoisted between the other girls ahead of them. “I’m kind of impressed you pulled it off, Potter,” Michaels said as they got upstairs in the sow moving throng.

“Me too,” the redheaded witch admitted, laughing at herself and Kasey’s expression. “It was hard, and I honestly didn’t even want to at the beginning of the year.” She smiled and added with a pointed look. “And I had loads of help. I know you helped the younger girls more than a few times outside practices, Michaels.”

Kasey shrugged, but smiled back, looking flattered. “I wanted to win,” she said easily, and Lily grinned hugely.

“We did though. So thanks, Kasey.”

Kasey smiled back, even as they went into the common room. “You’re welcome, Lily,” she said. “And I’m glad you decided to take on Captain. You might be a bitch sometimes, but you’re good at this shit.”

Lily shrugged, but blushed a little, and pushed her free hand through her hair. “Honestly? I wouldn’t even be bummed if I got Captain next year.”

Kasey snorted. “If you do I better make the damn Team.”

“You won’t even have to try out,” Lily said, and then moved to get a drink, feeling quite pleased with herself, but wishing, just a tiny bit, Scorpius were with her to celebrate.

By the time exams were finished Lily was feeling completely spent. So much so that she’d decided to try a Stay Awake potion designed to help restore alertness when drowsy, and now, after a week of exams and stress, was sitting up with her roommates, except Faith, who had gone wherever with Alfonso Bonifacio, and gossiping, eating the last of their Honeydukes’ stores, and remembering and regretting the highlights of Sixth Year. “I feel like Faith is the only one whose love life was still intact at the end of the year, and throughout the year,” Lily murmured after a lull in talking as they all pondered the question of who they all thought had the best year from their dorm. With the end of school looming, it was a tradition they’d started as Firsties, only minus Matilda until that year.

Cheryl snorted, because she was dating Hugo, but Lily knew most of _that_ relationship had happened below the radar, after dark and in secret. “Yeah, but you got the most action,” Cheryl said, and Lily blushed, even as the dark haired witch winced. “I mean…” Lily looked down. “You know what I mean. Just, statistically, factually speaking.”

“Cheryl, you’re so rude,” Hope sighed, even as she tossed an arm around Lily’s shoulders after squeezing into bed beside the redhead. “She just means, no offence of course, Lily, that you had a good year too, because you messed about and snuck out to meet Carmichael.” Suddenly blonde eyebrows pulled together and Hope, who’d come more out of her shell in her sister’s absence, frowned. “Right?”

“Of course,” Lily replied automatically. “And anyway, I ended up mostly back together with Scorpius, or at least, y’know, he’s willing to wait for me to finish school, and I grew a piece of Herbology history for my term project,” she said, loving that she could slip that little fact in at any point. “I think my year was pretty good, really. Can I pick myself?”

“Lily, we love you, but seriously, enough with the boasting about-” the dark haired witch drawled, but before Cheryl could finish, there was a loud tapping on the little window across from Lily’s bed. The silhouette of a large, regal owl loomed behind the glass, and Matilda automatically let the bird in. It hopped inside, hooted in thanks to the mousy haired witch, and then swooped over to perch on the footboard of Lily’s four poster. She crawled forward, relieved the bird of its mail, and gave in an awkward pet in lieu of a treat, which made the bird glare at her, then swoop back out the window into the balmy June air. With Hope, Matilda and Cheryl all watching Lily slid open the envelope that bore her name in a familiar hand, and pulled out a letter from the one person she’d almost given up hoping to hear from.

_Lily,_

_It feels like forever since I’ve seen you, even if I logically grasp it’s only been two weeks. It feels like forever. I miss you. And I am not, nor was I ever, angry at you for something so astonishing, darling. (I read the article in the Daily Prophet. Who would have known you were such a green thumbed Herbologist?) I’m so damn proud of you, Lily._

_I hope exams went well, and I’m sure you’ve aced them all. Except maybe Charms. Seriously, darling, those non-verbal spells need some work still. A little birdie in the form of your cousin Rose informed me you won the Pep Cup, which I had no doubts you would. Either way, congratulations, and I sincerely hope I get treated to a private performance of your veritable skills when you come home._

_Have I mentioned lately I miss you? I do, you know. Terribly. Especially that fantastic mouth of yours that’s as quick to tell me to shut up as kiss me. You do have the very best mouth, darling. Even when the only thing I get is kisses. Gods, I can’t wait until you turn seventeen._

_I’ve included (you can thank me when I see you next) some of those Chocolate Cauldrons with the caramel goo you like so much, since you missed our date and to keep those lips as sweet as they were last I had them. And I’d like to remind you that you also now owe me a date, so expect to visit Hogsmeade again with me; sometime soon._

_I really do miss you. More than I can say, Lily._

_Always Yours,_

_Scorpius._

Lily blinked and tried to hold in the emotions that threatened to rattle her composure and the surge of lust just thinking about turning seventeen. “I don’t care what the rules are,” Lily said, looking up and swallowing thickly as tears stung her eyes and her smile ached with joy “I’m voting that _I_ had the best year.” _Because at the end of it all, I got Scorpius._

It was with a heavy heart the next morning that Lily closed the lid on her trunk, locking it up so the house elves could transport it, with those of her roommates and the other Hogwarts students, to the platform at Hogsmeade Station later for the train ride home. School was, unofficially, over, and all that was left was the Leaving Feast, and the trek on the Thestral drawn carriages, where she would board the Hogwarts Express again to go home for the summer holidays.

The redhead tried to tell herself it would be alright, because the Leaving Feast was always nice, and she would get one last chance to gossip with her friends and bid goodbyes on the train ride back to London, and then, quite probably, she would see Scorpius again. But, as the redhead stood, brushed off her jeans and pocketed her wand, she still felt distinctly bummed that her Sixth Year was over. She’d had a rollercoaster of a year, certainly, but she had also enjoyed herself.

Pushing aside her maudlin thoughts, Lily went down to the common room to find her friends, but upon entering, and glancing around, she realized her dorm mates had all found their own delights for the last afternoon, now that exams had been sat and school was wrapping up. Her cousin Hugo and Cheryl were sitting together in the same armchair, laughing and joking with a handful of Hugo’s friends from the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, along with a couple of the girls from Lily’s Pep Team. Matilda and Dave were poring over some massive, dusty Ancient Runes textbook, heads bent together and murmuring quietly, sharing secret smiles and affectionate looks as they read together, probably learning something for next year. Faith Pellard was snogging her boyfriend Alfonso Bonifacio enthusiastically in a dim corner, both clearly wishing to say their physical goodbyes before they left the next morning, and her twin, Hope, was batting her lashes by the fire with a boy Lily suspected might be friends, and a Fifth Year, with Bonifacio.

The redhead tried to ignore how suddenly alone she felt, not having the wizard who held her heart nearby to share kisses, or laughter, or even a sodding textbook with, and headed out of the common room, deciding one last walk through the grounds was certainly in order. She’d spent, after all, a fair amount of time that year wandering the secret passages of the castle and meandering over the grounds with Carmichael, and Lily, although she still felt edgy and slightly uncomfortable anytime she bumped into the Ravenclaw Seventh Year, was almost hoping she’d stumble across Carmichael as she made the Entrance Hall at last.

The young witch knew he wouldn’t be coming back next year, and she wanted to, perhaps not precisely _thank_ him for their time together, but at least say a proper goodbye, and ask if he’d write her when she returned next September. Sure, they hadn’t really figured out the friends bit without benefits, and she doubted they ever would really, but she couldn’t deny, part of her kind of missed the wise stoner she’d spent so much time with that year. And if she didn’t stumble across Carmichael, she could certainly pop in and visit Yammy, her once-more green and thriving Magical Giant Yam that had ensured the wizarding world would remember her for being more than Harry Potter’s daughter.

Lily felt the breeze rippling her massive, waving and messy mane of dark red hair as she set out over the lawns in the bright afternoon sun, heading by habit toward the line of the Forbidden Forest, smiling as memories from that year came back at random. She was just past Hagrid’s cabin, waving cheerfully to the gamekeeper and Care of Magical Creatures Professor as she passed and spotted him working in his garden, when she heard a familiar voice call her name from the shadows of a massive tree just inside the Forest.

She smiled automatically, heading over, and watched the dimple pop in Carmichael’s cheek as he grinned back at her. He was smoking a fat blunt, looking as relaxed and disinterested as ever, and Lily couldn’t resist, as she drew level, poking the adorable dimple, eyes roving over his handsome face. “Hey,” she said, and laughed softly as Carmichael slid an arm around her waist as she turned and leaned against the huge trunk of the tree beside him.

“Stop looking so despondent, Potter,” he said, toking off his blunt. “You get to come back next year. No need to get weepy and wander around like you’ll never see this place again.”

The redhead rested her head on his shoulder, and hazel eyes rolled. “Even if I’m coming back, it’s still going to be different.”

“Yeah?” Carmichael asked, holding out the blunt in a silent offer. Lily hesitated, then plucked it from his fingers. She figured one last good time couldn’t hurt, now that she’d done everything she’d set out to do. “Is that because you’re different now, or because you’re going to miss having a sexy, exceptionally wise dealer to hook up with whenever you like?”

Lily laughed, took a tiny pull off the blunt, and coughed. She handed it back and Carmichael grinned. “You tosser,” she sighed, the tiny puff, after so many weeks of abstaining from anything remotely illegal, making her feel instantly stoned. “Both I think,” she admitted. “I’m different, but despite that, I _am_ going to miss you, Carmichael.”

The Ravenclaw snorted, pushed his overlong, grown out bangs from his eyes and took a long drag, then turned and leaned in. Lily rolled her eyes but pushed his face away, laughing with him as he exhaled. “I’d say you’re a liar if you said you wouldn’t,” he said after a beat. “I might even miss you, Potter.”

Lily arched a brow, then took the blunt when he held it out for another hit. “I know you’ll miss me, pervert. Who else is foolish enough to sleep with you occasionally?”

Carmichael shrugged. “Definitely no one with as much skin to touch when I’m rolling, or one who moans and pleads for my cock like you, babe.” She smiled and patted his cheek when she met his very dark eyes, and leaned in, kissing him chastely on the corner of his mouth, just one last time.

“Time to grow up, Peter Pan,” she murmured.

Carmichael rolled his eyes. “You’re fucking stoned, Potter. I’m not Peter Pan.”

“Close enough,” she teased, elbowing him lightly. “If you could go forever without growing up, you would,” she said.

Carmichael shrugged, took the blunt back and puffed thoughtfully. “Maybe,” he admitted. “Then again, I’ve realized it’ll be alright to go out into the real world next year,” he said, smirking and flicking his lip ring. Lily’s brows pulled together. “After you ditched me, I met an older witch, one who’s got all her shit together unlike a certain dorky Gryffindor girl I know, and it made me realize, honestly, I’m already an adult. Time to drop the childish shit and act like it.”

Lily’s brows shot up, eyes squinty thanks to the excellent quality of the weed. “Is it anyone I know?” she asked curiously. Carmichael chuckled, pulled her close and kissed her fully, mouth moving sensually over hers for a moment, then pulled back.

“Actually yes.”

Lily scowled now, pulling back. “Who?” she demanded.

“Professor Vector,” Carmichael said, toking again, and then held out the joint.

Lily’s mouth dropped open. “You’ve been messing around with the Arithmancy Professor?” Carmichael laughed at her expression and rolled dark eyes.

“You bet, Potter. And even if she doesn’t beg for my cock like you, Miss Vector’s way better at giving head.”

Lily burst out laughing, unsure if Carmichael was being serious or not, even if she could see how the Arithmancy Professor, who had followed in her formidable mother’s footsteps to become a teacher of the subject at Hogwarts after getting her Mastery in Arithmancy, was desirable. Plenty of the upper year wizards had mentioned, in Lily’s hearing, that the youngest witch on staff was good looking before, anyway. Lily sighed, shaking her head. “You’re such a tosser. But best of luck with your Arithmancy witch, I suppose.”

“Be good next year, Potter,” he said, when Lily accepted the blunt, took one last pull, coughed, and handed it back.

“Without you loafing around the castle, Carmichael, I don’t doubt that will be easy as pie.” Carmichael smiled, dimple popping, looking as good as he had the first time he’d ever smiled at her, and Lily hugged him then moved away. “Write me,” she added. Carmichael’s eyes rolled.

“If I have time,” he said vaguely. “I’ll probably be too busy what with being a grown up and mature and shit. Plus I’m planning to spend my summer in the Amazon with my mum, documenting rare hallucinogenic mushrooms.” The redhead shook her head, but smiled, finally feeling, at long last, like she could part ways with Carmichael on good terms. “But if you like, I’ll owl you some of the good shit next year.”

“I hope so. You owe me, I reckon.” He snorted, but kept smiling. “Goodbye, Horace,” Lily said, and his smile widened, dark brown eyes softening.

“See you around, Lily.”

Lily spent most of the train ride home hanging out in her compartment, talking with her friends about her summer pans, which she assumed would include spending as much time as possible with Scorpius, perhaps even at his condo, until she turned seventeen and they could properly be together.

She even went so far as to tell her dorm mates about the semi-planned, definitely-promised redo of the Hogsmeade date with Scorpius, which she was looking forward to, and they seemed appropriately pleased to gush about. She was also looking forward to taking her Apparition test, which she had been putting off, unlike all of her dorm mates who could legally Apparate now. She felt sure she _could_ pass, but Lily didn’t want to risk the possibility of whether or not she _would_ pass. So she’d take the test over the summer, when she actually turned seventeen, like her parents wanted, and Lily told herself it would be better to have waited because she could practice more.

Matilda told them all about she would be going to see Dave’s parents, and he would come to meet hers, but that she doubted there’d be much else in the way of them being together over the summer. Faith admitted she was contemplating telling her parents she was dating Alfonso Bonifacio, even if he wouldn’t be seventeen until into the next school year, in the hopes of being able to visit him. Hope said her parents would flip out, and advised against it, which Lily privately thought was the only thing holding Faith back. Hope herself said the usual. She wanted to lose weight and find the perfect wizard, but until then, she was up for a good time. Cheryl, who spent the first part of the journey, to Lily and the other girls’ surprise, with Hugo and his friends in their compartment not too far down the train, and arrived with Lily’s cousin, said her summer would probably involve Hugo, who smiled at the dark haired witch and agreed, and the other girls all rolled their eyes at the sappiness.

All in all, as they traveled, Lily felt pretty content. She would be picked up by her parents, and maybe her brother James, and go home with as little fanfare as possible for her dad. When at long last the train finally slid into place at the station and the redheaded witch had said all her goodbyes to her friends, and seen MacDougall on the train, whom she’d hugged one last time, Lily was ready to go home.

The year had been long and a little bit hard at times, and she _definitely_ hadn’t had one of her best years academically, but Lily still felt like she’d accomplished something. She’d found a way at least for the present, to have Scorpius for keeps, and try to date him seriously, even if it still had to be long distance next year. And she’d won the Pep Cup, which was nothing to be scoffed at by anyone who’d ever competed. Not to mention her Herbology project that had turned into, literally, a world-wide phenomenon, with all sorts of foreign wizarding press picking up the articles Lily and Evan had interviewed for.

But Lily was glad Sixth year had come to an end. She was going home, for the summer, to waste away her days carefree and without a worry, because next year, she knew, was going to be rough.

XXX


	27. Chapter 27

**Birthday Wishes Always Come True - Wish Upon a Star**

written by: albe-chan

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational drug use, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

It was her birthday, and Lily Potter had spent most of it waiting for dinner. Of course, she'd gotten her present from her parents that morning at breakfast, and even a gift from her older brother James, who'd sent a massive basket of Weasley's Witches products, and a sweet note telling her she was the best little sister a wizard could wish for. Even if he didn't know why one would wish for a  _sister_  of all things.

The redhead had spent the rest of the day wandering around the house, unable to settle to any task, too consumed with thinking she'd be, finally and after far too long, seeing Scorpius come dinner time. It had been confirmed, by both Albus who'd mentioned it to their parents last week, and Scorpius himself in a private letter to Lily, that the blond pureblood she had found herself embarrassingly, wholly and completely in love with, was indeed coming to her birthday celebration. Even if, as he'd written, he was only coming to make sure she 'didn't waste a perfectly good birthday wish on him again'.

By the time the hour finally arrived where it would be acceptable to get ready for the coming evening, without being unbearably over prepared too early and feeling anxious, and Lily was finally set to make herself beyond beautiful with the perfect hair and nails and makeup she had planned, the redheaded witch felt almost raw with nerves. All day it seemed, she'd been ramping up to this moment and now it was almost upon her, and Lily only felt anxiety over Scorpius's impending arrival. She felt as if every nerve was drawn taut over a bow, pushing her to the brink of exploding from within she was wound so tight, and the ache of missing the tall, sexy blond wizard who'd captured her interest and then her heart, was a tangible hunger that gnawed relentlessly, adding to her nerves.

She stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror for a long moment, trying to compose herself and get her raging anxiety, worse than any trip she'd had even after rolling with Carmichael, under control. It was just Scorpius. It wouldn't even be a big deal.  _He might not even come_. Lily bit her lip, forced a smile onto her face that she deemed appropriate enough for the birthday girl, and went, at last, to shower.

"Oh Lily, honey, you look  _beautiful_ ," Ginny Potter gushed as the younger redheaded witch came down the stairs at last. The elder redhead grasped her husband's arm, obviously fighting the urge to cry yet again that her youngest child, her little Lily, was now an adult. Hazel eyes barely refrained from rolling, even as Harry Potter beamed.

"You do look beautiful, honey," he said thickly, and Lily beamed, even if she felt a tiny wriggle of embarrassment, knowing just what was under the very beautiful dress her mother had bought for the occasion at Lily's personal request that had, eventually, devolved into pleading when she'd seen the dress the first time.

It was a slinky little royal blue dress with a sheer, black skirt overlay that made the way-too-short in her mother's opinion dress more acceptable, with the false volume and floor-length veil over her legs. Lily had loved it upon seeing it on the mannequin, even pinned up the way it had been, and her mother had instantly said no. So Lily had begged and pleaded, found the dress, and at last convinced her mother after trying to sample garment on. Of course, it looked even better then, the redhead was positive, with her sleek, tamed hair that was smooth as silk thanks to her Sleekeazy treatment, and her makeup that she'd applied with dedicated concentration, and of course, her new heels.

"Thanks," Lily said, having made her way successfully downstairs. "And thank you for throwing me this great big party," she added, hugging both parents.

"You're welcome, honey," Ginny said, releasing her husband to link arms with Lily, leading her slowly to the front door. "We're going to be very posh, and have you greet everyone. That should be fun, right? And of course, I'll be just inside with Dad, to greet everyone too. Do you think many of your classmates will come?" she added, and Lily barely repressed a sigh.

"Plenty of them sent back RSVP cards," she said, and shrugged. "I hope so."

Ginny hugged her daughter close. "I'm sure it'll be grand, honey. And don't forget, even though you're an adult now," Lily hoped her mother wouldn't burst into tears, even as the elder redhead's lower lip wobbled dangerously, "and you've grown into such a beautiful young woman, you'll always be my little Lily."

Lily smiled, rolled her eyes a tiny bit, but hugged her mother tight, because she wanted to always be able to talk to her mum, the one person she'd always turned to with her troubles as a child and young adult. "Thanks, Mum," she said earnestly, and then released the elder redhead when she heard the muted pop of Apparition inside the wards of her first guests arriving. "Now go back inside, Mum. I'm going to be posh as hell and greet my guests."

"Language, honey, please," Ginny chuckled, shook her head, and went into the main foyer properly, even as Lily's first guests arrived.

A half hour later Lily saw Scorpius, from her post just inside the front door that had been thrown wide, Apparate into the front yard and felt her breath catch in her throat. Her parents had allowed, since it was her seventeenth birthday and she would technically be an adult, her to invite whichever male guests she liked, and Lily had sent invitations to everyone of both genders she liked from school, hoping for a good turnout, with the exception of Carmichael, knowing he would be with his mother in the Amazon already. And first on her invite list had been Scorpius, the tall, handsome, and utterly desirable blond pureblood that now strode toward her, smiling widely.

"You made it," she said, unable to resist beaming, barely holding back from throwing both arms around him and snogging him senseless, only held back by her parents a few feet behind her in the hallway, ready to direct guests through the house.

"Of course," Scorpius said bending to brush his lips over her cheek, drawing his mouth across the skin toward the corner of her mouth, just barely brushing her lips as he withdrew. "Happy Birthday, Lily," he said, and held up a smartly wrapped little package. The redheaded witch snuck a glance over her shoulder seeing her parents talking with Draco's father, whom they'd invited for the grand party Lily had let her mother throw for her in lieu of a graduation event, and smiled back at Scorpius.

"Thanks," she breathed, and lifted onto her toes, pressing her mouth firmly, if far too briefly against Scorpius's, before sinking back down onto her toes. "Come on in," she added, unable to dim the blinding smile that graced her face knowing he'd come, that he cared, and she would be able to, maybe, spend the night with him. She had yet to ask her parents, knowing her mother would be ecstatic she was choosing better than Carmichael for any boy to even remotely date, because Lily feared her father's reaction. At times he seemed fine with her being an adult witch, but there'd been a couple instances already that day where Harry Potter, Saviour of the Wizarding World, had seemed more than a little perturbed his little girl was in fact a fully grown, legal witch. Especially when Lily had tossed out, casually, at breakfast, that she could technically purchase any and all Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products. Harry had told her adult she may technically be now, but first she was their little girl, and would always be, and so long as she lived with them, nothing had changed.

After that, Lily had no desire to even mention a sleepover with a wizard to her dad, for fear he'd lose it entirely. She had already planned on begging her mother to have a night away for her birthday, after the party of course, anyway.

By the time she'd finished greeting all her guests, and had joined the now enormous party personally in the back garden, Lily had already planned just how she'd ask, and beamed as she thanked all the guests again after a softly murmured Sonorous Charm. She then made her way around the room, pointedly drinking some elf-made wine, because she was of age, even though her father frowned at her, socializing and trying to ignore the urge to grab Scorpius and slip off somewhere quiet to properly celebrate.

The party seemed to be fantastic as the hours melted away, and Lily laughed and chatted, milling and eating the delicious food that her parents had arranged with her friends and family. She danced with a couple people, even as she hoped Scorpius would ask her, blew out candles and cut the massive cake, and thanked everyone once again for bringing gifts and the like, and attending her birthday. At last, at  _long last_  it seemed to the redheaded witch, the party was winding down, and the guests began to head out. Lily, after a not so subtle reminder from Ginny, managed to pry herself away from her friends long enough to bid people goodbye, and after a solid hour of standing at the door once more, smiling and thanking everyone profusely, was ready to be done herself. To her surprise, Albus was the one who came to relieve her of hostess duties.

"Hey Lils," he said, even as their Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur headed down the walkway to Apparate out, "there's a surprise waiting for you down by the beach."

Lily's brows pulled together as she frowned, positive she was about to be pranked. "What kind of surprise?" she demanded.

Albus smiled, looking far too smug and far from trustworthy. "The best kind. Go see for yourself, sister of mine." He gave her a little push toward the door, but Lily refused to budge.

"Is this another one of those surprises like you and James had for me on my eleventh birthday?" she demanded, hands on hips, hazel eyes fully glaring now. On the night of her eleventh birthday, both her older brothers had planned a 'surprise' for her down at the little spit of beach on the Potter property, which included all of her cousins pranking her. She'd cried and made both her brothers feel like jerks the next morning, after ratting them out to their parents of course, and never trusted either of their 'surprises' again.

"Of course not," Albus said, smirking at the memory. Lily's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "That was a traditional coming of age thing, Lils. This is just a regular, amazing, well-planned, and utterly generous surprise from your favourite older brother."

Lily still wasn't buying it. "Oh, so on my actual coming of age, you don't have any traditional pranks that need pulling on me?"

Albus sighed, rolling his vibrant green eyes then hugged her with one arm. "I promise it's not a prank. You'll like it. Promise."

Lily stuck out her pinky finger challengingly, and was a little shocked when her brother simply hooked his own pinky around hers and bound his promise with their childhood vow he wasn't bullshitting her. "Fine," she said, at last moving away from the door.

"Godric, Lils, so untrusting," Albus teased, smiling at her. "But for real, happy birthday, Lils. Consider this your gift. And don't worry about Mum and Dad, that's included." Lily wanted to ask questions, mostly like why she would worry about her Mum and Dad, but Albus laughed and shoved her outside a bit further. "Just go, damn it. Before I change my mind and say fuck it for you not trusting me."

Lily took a couple hesitant steps away, then looked back at her brother. "Thanks, Al," she said, hoping she wasn't going to regret those words when she got down to the beach proper.

"You're welcome. Just do me a favour and never,  _ever_ , mention it again, okay?" He waved as Lily turned properly and headed down across the lawns to the shadowy figure of the boathouse in the distance, and the sounds of gentle waves crashing against the tiny spit of beach the Potters had on their property.

When she got there she didn't see anything except a bottle of Ogden's finest, unopened, with a note on top. Lily kicked off her shoes, hiked up her dress, and marched over the sand toward it, snatching up the note even as she felt frustration at all the secrecy building, and flicked it open. There was only a single word written in a very familiar hand across the crisp parchment, and Lily smiled as frustration turned into excitement within her.

_Nightcap?_

She looked around, wondering if Scorpius was going to simply pop up and surprise her, but there was nothing other than sand, and water, and the unopened bottle of whiskey. Sighing, she bent to pick it up and head back to the house to demand Scorpius explain the bottle and the cryptic note, and to berate Albus for making her walk all the way down to the beach in the first place, but the moment her fingers closed around the bottle, she felt a sharp jerk behind her navel, and was instantly Portkeyed away. Her feet slammed into the ground hard when she landed, and then her knees buckled, leaving Lily in a heap on pale hardwood floors, surrounded by myriad candles that emitted a soft glow, still holding the bottle of whiskey.

"You made it," A familiar voice said, just as she managed to get to her feet, and when Lily turned, she saw Scorpius leaning against the doorframe to his bedroom in his flat in London, smiling at her. "I was worried you might not believe Albus wasn't going to prank you again."

"It crossed my mind," Lily admitted, beaming wide, and took two steps forward, closing the distance between them, lifting onto her tiptoes to hug Scorpius like she'd wanted to do earlier that night.

Scorpius pulled her into his embrace, his strong, warm arms enveloping her and his hot, hungry mouth descending upon hers. Lily moaned into her blond haired wizard's mouth, arms sliding with seemingly well practiced ease up his chest and around his neck. Her legs moved around his hips as he lifted her from the ground, both hands cupping her arse as his tongue tickled the roof of her mouth before engaging her own tongue in battle once more.

"Fuck, I can't tell you how badly I've been waiting for this," Scorpius growled as he released her mouth, moving with her into bed, laying her back gently on the plush linens. Lily was positive, as he stripped her slowly and methodically and she felt her libido burning into a blazing inferno of lust, she at least had an inkling. She'd wanted him so long and so fervently now, it almost felt surreal to have Scorpius's hands smoothing with slow reverence over her body as he removed the very last of her clothing.

Dark grey eyes met hazel for a long moment, and then Lily sat up and licked her lips, eyes dropping to the blond wizard's still-dressed body. "Me too, so now it's my turn," she said, and with steady hands she reached up and began unfastening the buttons down the front of Scorpius's robes, only partly distracted by the feel of warm, slightly rough hands gliding temptingly up her thighs and smoothing with reverence up her waist.

"You're so damn beautiful," Scorpius breathed between slow, lingering kisses once his robes had been removed and he moved over her again. Lily groaned as his questing hands cupped the weight of one breast, thumb drawing tempting circles around her nipple before plucking at the hardened nub teasingly.

"Scorpius!" she gasped as his mouth nibbled down her neck, and she grasped his broad, naked shoulders instinctively as that sinful, perfect mouth took over for his fingers, teasing and tasting leisurely.

"Godric it's been too long," the blond pureblood moaned into her flesh as Lily's nails bit into his flesh and he nipped hard at her nipple. The redhead couldn't agree more, it had been  _way_  too long for her, and if Scorpius didn't hurry the fuck up, and just get inside her already, she was going to go mental.

"So stop making me wait longer," Lily growled, releasing the blond's shoulders to attempt to remove his trousers and underpants.

Scorpius, looking a little surprised, pulled back to grin down at her, silvery blond hair lit to spun gold by the candles that surrounded them falling into his very dark grey eyes. "I was going to go slow, darling," he rumbled, kissing her again before sitting up on his knees between her splayed thighs. "We  _do_  have all night, y'know," he added teasingly, and Lily gulped as his voice, rough and thick, grazed over her eardrums pleasantly, making shivers of electric desire jolt over her, pooling low in her belly.

"Don't go slow," she moaned, and then her back arched up off the sheets as she felt Scorpius's hands parting her thighs more fully, thumbs sliding up either side of her dripping quim, groaning low in his throat. "Fuck, please don't go slow," Lily gasped as the pad of one thumb brushed her straining clitoris. She bit her lip on a whimper as Scorpius finally pushed his undone trousers and pants down, revealing the thick, turgid length of his cock.

"Do I need-?" he asked in a tight voice, sliding erotically slow and teasing against her slick flesh, cleaving her pussy lips around his erection as the head of his prick bumped her clit and made stars burst behind Lily's eyelids. The redhead would've laughed if she wasn't so eager, because she was forcibly reminded of the very first time Scorpius had ever taken her to bed, but simply shook her head. "Thank Merlin," Scorpius whispered.

Lily opened her mouth to tell her boyfriend Merlin be damned, he should thank  _her_  for having the foresight to perform a Contraceptive Charm on herself before she'd met him down at the beach, but the words died on her lips. Because in the next breath, Scorpius had lined himself up and slid, with one even, steady thrust, into her sleek, hot center, and Lily's eyes all but rolled back in her head. Liquid fire was coursing through her veins, even as a buzz of primal magic seemed to tremble over every inch of her skin at the feeling of being completed by this wizard above her.

Her arms rose to loop around his neck and shoulders, and she moaned into his golden tan flesh with abandon, legs lifting to wrap around his hips as he eased out slow and thrust, harder and deeper than before, back in. "Scorpius," she panted, moaning raggedly as her lover slowly began fucking her, deep and controlled, into the mattress.

"Lily," the blond groaned, burying one hand in her mane of dark red waves, the other sliding between their heated bodies. "Fuck,  _yes_ , Lily," Scorpius hissed as she cried out, clenching him hard within as her pleasure skyrocketed at warp speed to heaven when the pureblood's thumb brushed her clit as he reamed her.

"Scorpius, yes, please, Scorpius, yes," Lily chanted, lost in mindless ecstasy, unable to do anything other than pant heavily between the moaned words of her mantra and clutch the tall, blond haired wizard who tilted his hips on the next thrust, the blunt head of his prick grinding hard and perfect up against her g-spot. " _Yes, Scorpius_!" she squealed, feeling the pleasure spiking to its pinnacle, ever so close to coming.

"Shit, I'm not going to last," Scorpius hissed through gritted teeth, thrusting hard and erratic before he tensed entirely. Lily threw her head back as she felt the hot burst of his come spurting within her, even as her own orgasm slammed into her and she lost touch with reality as pleasure and ecstasy and love for the wizard cursing into her neck filled her and set her floating in a sea of contentment.

When hazel eyes fluttered open at last, chest rising and falling rapidly as she looked up at the white ceiling, Lily was certain she'd never wipe stupid, sappy smile off her face. "Wow," she panted when Scorpius lifted his weight off of her, cuddling her close as he flopped onto one side, hands roving tenderly over her back and buttocks and hips and thighs as he peppered her face with soft kisses.

"I love you so damn much," he replied, lips brushing her forehead and eyelids, cheekbones and pulling her thigh over his as his mouth moved to kiss the tip of her nose and her Cupid's bow before he kissed her properly. Lily moaned into his mouth as the kiss deepened rapidly, arching and rocking a little against the thigh he'd slid between hers as their tongues slid and slipped over each other.

"Mmm, I love you too, and maybe even more, but I'm not saying no if you're looking to prove it," she replied in a husky voice when his mouth finally broke from hers, kissing, much hungrier and far more fervently down her neck. Scorpius chuckled into her flesh and Lily gasped as his teeth grazed her suggestively, undoubtedly marking her pale flesh.

"It'll be my pleasure," he replied huskily, kissing her once again on the mouth before meandering lazily, mouth kissing, licking and biting slowly down her body, and although her face was aching, Lily couldn't stop grinning even still.

Lily Potter sighed happily several hours later as exhaustion overcame her at last, a small smile turning up the corners of her mouth as she snuggled into the warm body behind her. She closed hazel eyes for a beat, luxuriating in the feel of a heavy arm draped across her middle, a hand loosely cupping her breast, and the steady, lulling sounds of even breathing in her ears, then opened her lids sleepily, staring up at the night sky in the dark. She watched clouds drifting lazily across an almost-full moon, stars twinkling, and realized that, yet again, the wish shed made as she blew out her birthday candles had come true. She had Scorpius, and his love, wrapped around her for the foreseeable future, and contentment thrummed through her.

She blinked and then saw a streak of white light soaring across the night sky. A shooting star. She grinned and closed her eyes once more, making a wish for the second time that night that she could spend eternity with Scorpius, and stay as happy as she was in that moment forever. Part of her doubted it would really come true, because she knew it was foolish to rely solely on wishes to keep a relationship alive, but Lily felt much better regardless as she began to drift off to sleep. Because even if it seemed her birthday wishes always come true, she figured it couldn't hurt to wish upon a star.

XXX

The End

**AUTHOR'S NOTE** : Thanks so much for all the love and support the second part of this story has gotten! Every kind word and wonderful reader makes my day, and I truly thank you all who enjoyed this fan fiction. It's been a journey to write, and stay tuned here in future for the third installment and Lily's Seventh Year! (Whenever I get far enough ahead in writing it to post of course). Cheers! :)


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